I Have To Marry Who?
by Layellee
Summary: Sasuke has returned to the village after killing his brother and the only way for him to remain out of prison is to get married to the person the elders choose and to revive the Uchiha clan. So who's the bride? Naruko Uzumaki! (Smart/strong Naruko) FemNaru/Sasuke pairing and rated T for the usual, it might go up to M but I'm not sure so it probably won't. Just putting it out there
1. Chapter 1: The Proposal

**Summary: **Sasuke has returned to the village after killing his brother and the only way for him to remain out of prison is to get married to the person the elders choose and to revive the Uchiha clan. So who's the bride? Naruko Uzumaki! (Smart/strong Naruko) FemNaru/Sasuke pairing and rated T for the usual, it might go up to M but I'm not sure so it probably won't…just putting it out there lol.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto because if I did then Naruto would be Naruko.

**Please enjoy!**

**Chapter 1: The Proposal**

He couldn't believe it, he actually did it, he actually killed Itachi! But what was he supposed to do now? Should he return to the village? Would they even allow him back without torturing information out of him about Orochimaru and then throwing him into prison for the rest of his life? All these questions and more running through Sasuke's mind as he lay wounded and bleeding on the ground as the rain falls on his face mixing with the blood. He had just won his battle with Itachi and had successfully killed him, finally avenging his clan. But the battle had left him severely wounded and his chakra depleted, even if he wanted to he couldn't move to go anywhere, his body was too broken. He didn't know where his team was, whether or not they were killed by his brother's partner who had met them earlier and only allowed him to continue on or if they were alive and waiting for him. He didn't know, he was tired and wounded but a sense of relief had washed over him and now all he wanted to do was sleep. But for some reason rest wouldn't come to him because the nagging question of what he was going to do now was continually eating at him, refusing to let his mind sleep. He could feel his body becoming weaker and colder, his vision was becoming blurry as his eyes were no longer able to focus properly. Was he going to die here? No he couldn't. He was an Uchiha, and an Uchiha never lies down and accepts death like this. But his body was betraying his pride, refusing his commands to move, and after several minutes of trying to get up, exhaustion takes over. Just as his eyes were closing and with his limited vision and even though it was raining, he swear he could see the sun shining above him brightly in the blue sky.

She had found him lying on the ground in the rain and in a pool of his own blood. The area around him completely destroyed, even some black flames could still be seen burning. It looked as though two titans had just battled and what was before her eyes was the aftermath. But there he was, lying amongst the rubble wounded and practically without any chakra left. Without hesitation she quickly ran up to him and knelt beside him, despite the protests of her ANBU team. They were yelling something about it possibly being a trap and she could be killed, but she didn't care because lying at her knees was a more dead than alive Sasuke Uchiha. His clothes were ripped and bloodied, his skin was paler then the last time she had seen him but his hair was still the same, the color of obsidian with the occasional streak of midnight blue running through it and spiked up at the back like a duck's backside. A small smile couldn't help but find its way onto her beautifully plump lips at seeing her best friend, but a tear couldn't also help but leak out of her eyes on fall onto his face. She had found him, and now she was going to bring him back home, whether he liked it or not.

The next thing he knew was that he was lying in a bed surrounded by four white walls with one window letting in fresh air and the warm afternoon sun and a vase full of flowers sitting on a small table beside his bed. His body was covered in bandages and bruises, all the blood had been cleaned from his body and hair and he was now dressed in a grey hospital robe with matching pants. Where was he? He could hear birds chirping from somewhere outside and the sun was bright and warm. Were those also voices he could hear? Children playing? Where was he? Did his team find him and take him to a hospital? No, Karin knew medical ninjutsu and wouldn't risk taking him to a hospital. Where was he? But voices leaking through the door from the hallway bring his turbulent mind to a halt.

"Sakura how is the patient doing?" an all too familiar voice asks. Then it hit him like a bolt of lightning, he was back in Konoha. But how? Then it hit him again, just before he blacked out, that wasn't the sun he saw it was the hair of the person he tried to kill so many times before. It had been Naruko.

"It's been six days since he got here and when he was brought here he was more dead than alive, so it could take several more days for him to come around. I was actually getting ready to go in and change his bandages." At the sound of the door beginning to slide open, he quickly closes his eyes and steadies his breathing.

"Looks like he is already awake. You can open your eyes now Sasuke," the voice of his previous sensei calls out. Frustrated that he had been found out, he reluctantly opens his eyes and is greeted by the sight of his former sensei and teammate.

"You're awake!" the pinkette exclaims with a smile on her face as she wraps her arms around him. A small grunt escapes his throat from the pain of his wounds being jostled. "Sorry," she apologizes as she backs off.

"Well I will leave you to tend to his wounds and I'll go inform Tsunade that Sasuke is conscious," Kakashi states as he disappears in a whirl of leaves, leaving Sasuke alone with the pinkette.

As gently as she could, Sakura begins to remove the bandages covering the many deep cuts and stab wounds on her friend's body. Letting out a grunt or hiss when she touched the disinfectant soaked cloth to them. "You're lucky that Naruko found you when she did. A few more hours and you would have been beyond help. She came to visit you the day after she brought you back, but she hasn't returned since. The flowers are from her," she says as she looks at them quickly before returning to her work. "Well that should do it for today, I should report in to lady Tsunade." Quickly she gathers her things and starts to walk out the door, but before she closes it she turns to face him with a smile, "it is good to have you back." And with that she closes the door and leaves him to his thoughts.

For some reason she couldn't bring herself to go and visit him in the hospital. Sasuke, he was her best friend. And she still thought of him as her best friend despite the many times he tried to kill her, actually he had succeeded once but thankfully lady Tsunade revived her. Would he hate her for bringing him back? And what had caused all the wounds he sustained? She knew there had been a battle and she could guess that he had probably fought Itachi. But there was nobody else around, not even Itachi whom she suspected he fought. Had he finally been able to kill Itachi? If he did, where was his body?

"So many questions!" Naruko yells out as she sits atop the roof of her apartment and slams her fist down on the tiles, causing several of them to crack. "What do I do?" she asks, this time her voice barely a whisper. After several hours of brooding, she finally decides to get up and get her something to eat, because of her somewhat depressed mood she hadn't eaten all day, something a little ramen couldn't fix. Just as she was about to jump from her perch a pigeon with a tiny note attached to its leg lands on her shoulder. Hunger forgotten she gently removes the message, shortly after the pigeon flies off into the sunset. It was a summons, and it must be important seeing how the old hag had underlined the word _now_ several times. With a sigh she destroys the paper and makes her way to the hokage's office.

Without even bothering to knock upon her arrival, Naruko opens the door and strolls on in, "you summoned me grandma Tsunade?"

"Yes," she replies angrily, a small vein making itself visible on her forehead. "You could learn to knock."

"Nah, what's the fun in that?" Naruko says back with a sarcastic laugh.

"Children these days," she mumbles. "Anyway, I wanted to inform you that the Uchiha has regained consciousness."

"I see…"

"Once his wounds have healed enough he will be taken to the intelligence unit where Ibiki will work his magic on him."

"You plan to torture him in order to get information on Orochimaru. What will be his fate after that?"

"Yes that is the plan. And depending on if he cooperates or not his fate will be decided then. Though he will not be executed because the elders want to keep him alive to keep the sharingan in Konoha. But there is more," Tsunade continues on, "they also want to make sure that the sharingan will stay in Konoha permanently. They want the Uchiha to either marry someone of their choice and revive the clan by his own free will and swear loyalty to Konoha, or…"

"Or?"

"Or else they will forcefully make him revive his clan," a grim expression on both hers and Naruko's face. "I trust you don't need further explanation…"

"No, I get the picture," Naruko replies quickly with her hands up, definitely not wanting Tsunade to elaborate. "Forgive me grandma Tsunade but why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because the elders want you to marry the Uchiha."

"WHAT! Why would the elders want me to marry him?!"

"They chose you because they deemed you to be the best candidate. Their reasoning is because within you, you carry an incredible amount of chakra even without the kyuubi and because the blood of your mother runs through your veins giving you a strong and unnatural life force. You are the top kunoichi in Konoha and are extremely intelligent and strong, they saw no reason to say no."

"And what if I refuse?"

"If you refuse then the council will never condone you in becoming hokage and will take away your status as a kunoichi and a chakra seal will be placed upon you so that you will never be able to leave the village again."

"Ouch. They are making it hard to refuse," she says quietly, her voice trailing off. "Ever since you sent me on a reconnaissance mission that had to do with the akatsuki behind the elder's backs they've turned into real hard asses," she mumbles.

"They also said that if you agree, the Uchiha will be allowed to freely walk around the village but not leave it and once he has proven his loyalty he will be reinstated as a shinobi of Konoha."

"I see…" her face full of sadness.

"Naruko, you don't have to decide this moment, but the elders want an answer within the next day or so. I am ashamed that you are being forced to make this decision and if there was any way I could stop this from happening I would."

"I know grandma Tsunade. I will inform you of my decision tomorrow, I just need some time to think things over," her normal demeanor returning. "Night granny Tsunade," she says with a smile before disappearing. Once alone the busty hokage opens the bottom drawer and pulls out a full bottle of sake, quickly downing it before grabbing another. Soon finding herself lost in a drunken bliss.

Marriage? Yeah she had thought about it. Someday she did want to get married and have a family but she didn't think that it would happen so soon! And with the teme! When they were younger she did have a little crush on him, nothing like how Sakura was, but soon she got over it and just thought of him as her best friend and rival. Especially because over the years and the few encounters she had with him after he left, he made his feelings clear, she was the dobe who always seemed to get in the way and irritated him to no end. What would he say to the elder's plan? Would he accept it? Or chose to rot in prison and be forced to revive his clan by whatever means necessary. A shiver quickly made its way down her spine at the thought.

He was her best friend, even if he didn't think of her that way and she would do anything for him. Hell she even left her village at the age of thirteen for four years to train with the pervy sage and literally went through hell in order to become stronger. When she finally returned and learned that Sasuke had killed Orochimaru and formed his own team she was happy he was free from the snake but was saddened to learn he was still on the path of vengeance. Over the span of two years she was promoted to jounin and joined the ANBU, she became their top assassin and strongest member. Slowly people started to accept her and realize that she herself wasn't the kyuubi and wasn't to blame for the death of their friends and family. Things had started to look up for her and for once she was truly happy.

Then a week ago she found the teme lying in a pool of his own blood, she was happy to see him, but deeply saddened to see him that state. Without hesitation she brought him back, but now deep in the back of her mind she was regretting it. Marry the teme and still be able to become hokage one day, or lost everything. _Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are even lower than trash,_ Kakashi's voice echoing in her mind. It then hit her. She knew what she had to do. She's said it so many times. She would do anything to for her friends. Looks like her decision was made, she would marry the teme and help him revive his clan, the thought sending another shiver down her spine and making her nauseated. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to sleep, Naruko jumps from her usual perch on the roof and heads for the training grounds to work out her frustration.

The next morning, with only having gotten two hours of sleep due to her restlessness Naruko slowly makes her way to the hokage's office, using the roads for once instead of hopping across rooftops. The sun was shining particularly bright today and was especially warm for the end of March and the cherry blossoms were just beginning to bloom, even though there weren't really seasons in the land of fire, the late and early months could get chilly. She always liked the cherry blossoms because they were beautiful and brought a feeling of calmness over her being. When she was little she would always picture herself getting married under an ancient cherry tree with the blossoms falling down upon her and her husband when they kissed for the first time as a married couple, the nostalgic feeling making a smile find itself on her face. But the smile quickly disappears upon the realization that that would never happen. Being lost in thought Naruko hadn't realized that she had been standing in front of Tsunade's office door for several minutes. Putting on a happy face, she knocks quickly and before being granted entrance walks in anyway.

"Morning lady Tsunade," she greets with a smile that doesn't reach her eyes.

"At least you knocked this time," she says playfully, but frowns when she sees the smile on Naruko's face but the deep sadness in her eyes. She also didn't miss that Naruko had addressed her as lady Tsunade and not granny or grandma Tsunade. "Have you made your decision?" her voice grim and serious.

"I have."

"And there is probably nothing I can say to dissuade you?"

"Kakashi-sensei taught me many things, the most important of all to never abandon your friends and I will not abandon Sasuke, even if he doesn't want my help."

"Very well then. Bring him in!" she yells to no one in particular and a few seconds later her office door opens again and in walks several ANBU agents surrounding a bruised and battered Sasuke.

He really didn't care about refusing to give up information to them about Orochimaru. In actuality he let Ino's father, Inoichi Yamanaka to dig through his brain and retrieve all the information he wanted on Orochimaru. But put up a fight when they tried to get information about Itachi. After about a day he was returned to his hospital bed where Sakura would come in every so often to check on his wounds and change his bandages. Now he was being led to the hokage's office, surrounded by ANBU agents with chakra cuffs around his wrists. The leader knocked once before a gruff voice granted them entrance, but Tsunade quickly dismisses them and after a quick bow they disappear. He wasn't alone with the hokage, he knew those ANBU were nearby, her attendant was at her side like always but there was someone there he didn't expect. It was Naruko.

It had been a few years since he last saw her, the last time being when her, Sakura, Kakashi and his replacement had found one of Orochimaru's hideouts and infiltrated it. He had almost killed her again, but because of the snake's interference he wasn't able to. Unlike last time, her hair was now in a long braid going down her back and she wasn't wearing a speck of orange. Instead she was wearing black pants with many pockets going down the sides and a blood red tank top that ended just above her navel. He also didn't fail to notice the ANBU tattoo on her upper left arm, or how her shirt and pants hugged her curves.

"Now that you are here and have surrendered the information asked for, the elder council has a proposition for you, Sasuke Uchiha," Tsunade announces to him, but instead of replying he just looks at her with cold eyes. "Since you have been cooperative, the elder council will allow you to marry a girl of their choosing so that you can revive your clan. In return you will swear loyalty to Konoha and in due time you will be reinstated as a shinobi of Konoha."

"And if I refuse?" his voice cold and emotionless.

"Then you will be imprisoned and not wanting to go into any details, will be forced to bring the Uchiha clan back to life."

"If I should agree to this, who would I have to marry?"

"The council has decided that should you accept you will marry Naruko Uzumaki."

"Marry the dobe?" _At least they didn't pick Sakura,_ his thinks to himself, not missing the slight flinch of Naruko's body.

"What is your answer Uchiha?" Tsunade asks impatiently.

He surely didn't want to spend the rest of his days locked up in prison, and he for sure didn't want to be forced to revive his clan, the thought of it threatening to make his stomach throw up his breakfast. But he didn't want to marry the dobe, surely she didn't agree to it? She must have, but what did the council threaten her with to make her agree to marry him?

"Well?" Tsunade asks again with anger in her voice from being kept waiting.

"Fine, I will do it," he replies in a monotone voice.

"Very well, because you both have agreed it will be made official." Reaching into one of the many drawers of her desk, Tsunade pulls out several sheets of paper and two pens. "By signing this you are officially engaged, the wedding will be next week," she says as the two sign the papers. "And there is one last thing, a seal will be placed on you Sasuke so that you will not attempt to escape, because if you do I will activate it and no matter how far away from here you are it will instantly kill you. Understand?"

"Hn."

"Very good. I will place the seal on you tomorrow, for now you are dismissed Sasuke. Naruko you will stay, I have a new assignment for you."

After he was dismissed and was escorted back to his hospital bed, but he couldn't take his mind off the dobe. She had matured much since the last time he saw her, but the air about her was different. When they were younger she would give off an aura that was full of energy and happiness. Now the air around her was heavy and laced with sadness. Her shoulders even seemed to be slumped by an unseen burden. Yes he would marry her, but he didn't love her. To him Naruko was weak, the dobe who always got in the way.

After Sasuke had been dismissed, Tsunade had given her a scroll containing her newest assignment. She would only be gone for a few days so that she could be back in time for her wedding. What had she gotten herself into now? What would everyone say when they learned that her and Sasuke were to be married? Surely Sakura would be a little steamed since it wasn't her that was picked to be Sasuke's wife. She would have to talk to her once she got back from her mission, a talk she wasn't looking forward to. Kakashi probably wouldn't have too much to say on the matter, he would worry about her but try not to show it. Jiraiya, the pervy sage, would probably be ecstatic and write a story about it…the perv. Everyone else would be confused at first, since they couldn't know the real reason behind the marriage, because everyone thought that her and the teme hated each other since they were rivals.

With a sigh, Naruko changes into her ANBU uniform and adorns her mask, a fox mask with crimson accents as whiskers and blue ones covering the tips of the ears. She was the best at what she does, silently swooping in and dealing the killing blow before the person even knew they were dead. This time she had to hunt down and assassinate a ninja who had infiltrated the village and gathered intel on certain things that should be kept secret. It wouldn't be a particularly difficult mission. Ever since she had learned sage mode from the pervy sage and then mastered it, tracking people was easy. After all she had to be back in time for her wedding…

**A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for reading and I really hoped you liked the first chapter! I've had this idea in my head for a while and it was really starting to bug me so I finally decided to turn it into a story! Please review, constructive criticism is appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2: Married

**A/N: First off I want to say thank you so much for all the positive feedback from chapter 1! You all are truly amazing people! To the person who posted a review about this story resembling TooDarnLazy's story I Think I, I did get the idea of writing a story about Naruko and Sasuke being forced to marry from reading theirs, but I have no intention of copying their story, I was merely inspired by it. And seeing how their story hasn't been updated in several years I really wanted to write my own version and see it all the way through. Oh and the question of who is more powerful will be answered in the next chapter as well as certain things regarding Itachi…okay no more because I don't want to spoil it.**

**Anyway…here is the next chapter! Please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything…unfortunately. **

** Chapter 2: Married **

She woke at her normal time, just as the sun was peaking over the horizon painting the sky in bright pinks and other shades of red. On a normal day she would clean the sleep from her eyes and get dressed before heading to the training grounds if she wasn't assigned a mission. But today wasn't a normal day, it was her wedding day. Today she was to be married to Sasuke Uchiha, her one-sided best friend and eternal rival. And if this were like any normal wedding the bride would be ecstatic to be marrying her fiancé, but Naruko wasn't a normal bride. In a sense she was being forced to marry the teme, because it was marry him or lose everything. So since today was not a normal day, Naruko climbed out of her bed and went straight to the bathroom to shower and wash the grime off her body that had accumulated from her mission. When she had returned and finished reporting in to Tsunade and had a talk with Sakura, Naruko was too tired to shower properly so instead she collapsed onto her bed and fell into a restless sleep.

Thankfully Sakura hadn't been too mad when she learned of the true reason behind the marriage, she did look hurt when Naruko broke the news to her and there was a hint of betrayal in her eyes. And thankfully since Sakura wasn't too upset, she along with Ino and Hinata agreed to help prepare her for the wedding ceremony. Much to Naruko's horror there was going to be an actual ceremony so all of the elders and other important people could attend. So that meant she had to wear a traditional wedding kimono and that's where Sakura and the others came in. After getting dressed in her civilian clothes, a simple pair of black shorts and a white tank top, Naruko glances at the clock. They would be here in a few hours…great.

Too nervous to eat anything Naruko just sits on her bed until several hours later someone knocks on her door. With a sigh she reluctantly gets up and opens the door, all three of her guests dressed in elegant and elaborate kimonos.

"Time to get you dressed," Sakura says with a smile. She had decided that she wouldn't be angry over this, since Naruko was in a way forced into this, and help her get dressed. "Where is your outfit?"

"Closet," Naruko replies quietly.

Quickly Sakura walks over to Naruko's closet and slides open the doors to reveal the most beautiful kimono she had ever seen. The second layer was completely white but the top layer held all the beauty. It was the color of the sky on a perfect summer day embroidered with white and dark blue orchids and a white obi, there was also the Uchiha fan embroidered on the back.

Once she was dressed, her three friends started working on her hair and makeup. They kept it simple, using a neutral color foundation, mascara to further bring out her eyes, a touch of blush and a light pink stain for her lips. For her hair, half of it was kept down and flowing in its naturally wavy state with two long strands framing her face. The rest of it was worked into a small braid that hung behind her. After her look was complete Sakura, Hinata and Ino all take a step back and admire their work.

"Na-Naruko you look b-beautiful," Hinata says as she looks at her friend.

"Yeah, who knew you cleaned up so nicely," Ino remarks teasingly, trying to lighten the mood.

"Thanks guys, I couldn't have done this without you," Naruko says with a smile. "Truly thank you."

"Anything for a friend," Sakura says back, a smile of her own on her face. "Come on, it's almost time." Together the four make their way to Tsunade's office before going to the roof where the ceremony would be held.

"You look beautiful Naruko," Tsunade says with a smile once they all enter her office. "I'm just sorry that it has to be like this."

"Its okay grandma Tsunade, I agreed to do it after all. I just feel a little silly dressed like this. I'm not use to wearing anything other than pants or shorts."

"Such a tomboy…Well let's get this over with. After the ceremony and light reception you two will be allowed to return to the Uchiha compound. By the time you get there all of your stuff will have been moved there."

"Figures I'd have to share a house with the teme," Naruko sighs.

"Don't worry, there are plenty of bedrooms. You will only have to share a bathroom, living room and kitchen."

"That's a relief."

"Now enough dawdling, it's time to go." With a deep breath Naruko follows everyone to the roof where the ceremony was to be held. The ceremony itself was going to be short, sweet and to the point, which made Naruko happy.

Upon arriving at the roof, the numerous voices that could be heard in the stairwell immediately die down and everyone stands from their seat as she walks down the aisle that had been created by the rows of chairs and to the front where Tsunade and Sasuke stood. As she walked she could see the many friends she had made over the years standing there with happy smiles on their faces all dressed in traditional kimonos. Sitting at the front was Sakura, Sai, Kakashi and the pervy sage along with the elders. A scowl couldn't help but find its way on her face upon seeing them, but it quickly leaves when she arrives to her destination next to Sasuke.

He was also dressed in a traditional kimono. His haori is a dark blue with a large Uchiha symbol embroidered on the back with a white obi around his waist and his hakama a dark grey in color. And of course his hair was still in its usual style.

"As you all are aware, we are gathered here today to celebrate the joining of Sasuke Uchiha and Naruko Uzumaki in marriage," Tsunade greets the audience before continuing on with the ceremony. After a short speech of respecting one another and sticking by each other's side no matter what, they each took a smaller lit candle and lit a larger candle, they then exchanged rings. "You are now husband and wife, as a sign of your union, you will kiss each other."

Hesitantly Naruko turns to face her new husband with a slight blush on her face. She had never actually kissed anyone before. The time her and the teme had accidentally kissed all those years ago at the academy didn't count because as said it was an accident. But would Sasuke actually kiss her here in front of all these people? What should she do? She could see the slight smirk on his face as he leaned in closer to her, and before she knew it the kiss was over. He had just lightly brushed his lips against hers for a few seconds before drawing back. And even though it wasn't a full kiss, her heart was still threatening to beat out of her chest. After their "kiss" everyone in the audience stood up and started clapping as her and Sasuke walked back down the aisle and to the large hall where the ceremony would be held.

The reception wasn't extravagant by any means because there wasn't any music to dance to or even a cake. Instead there was a table with some light refreshments for the guests to enjoy before taking their leave. Throughout the so called reception, several people whom Naruko had never met before came up to congratulate them and wish them a long and happy marriage. Sasuke of course just stood there while Naruko would smile and bow politely in thanks for their well wishes. But then a group of four people dressed in shinobi attire that hadn't been at the wedding and whom Sasuke had never seen before suddenly appears before them. "Congratulations captain," the one with shoulder length chocolate colored hair and bright hazel eyes greets as they bow their heads respectfully. Immediately her fake polite smile turns into a true one that makes her eyes sparkle.

"Thanks Haru," she replies happily with a wide grin.

"How long will you be on leave?" another man from the group asks.

"Tsunade said she would give me a week off, but I'll more than likely be back sooner seeing how you four are incapable at functioning without me," she laughs.

"Just as long as marriage doesn't make you soft," a third voice adds in, the man smiling.

"Don't worry Seji. I'll still be able to kick your ass whenever I want, even while wearing this horrid dress." At that they all erupt in laughter, but Naruko stops when she sees the scowl on Sasuke's face. "Thanks for coming you guys. I'll see you all later, still lots of people to greet."

"Forgive us for taking up so much of your time," the one named Haru says politely. "We will take our leave," they all politely bow their heads before leaving.

But their absence isn't noticed because not a second later two more people appear, "congratulations to the both of you," the person says smugly. "May you have many happy years together."

At hearing the old woman's smug voice full of false sincerity, it took all of Naruko's willpower to not draw one of her unseen kunai and carving off the old cow's face. "Thank you lady Koharu," Naruko says with a deadly sweetness in her voice and a sadistic grin on her face, making sure to expose her fangs. Her tone making the pompous elder to take a step back fearing for her life and quickly Homura, the other village elder, bows his head respectfully before dragging lady Koharu away.

**OoOoOo**

_They called her captain,_ Sasuke says to himself as the four unfamiliar shinobi greet Naruko. _Looks like the dobe is the captain of her own ANBU squad, she's still weak,_ his thoughts making a scowl form on his face. Afterwards Naruko politely dismisses the group but their presence is soon replaced with another.

"Congratulations to the both of you, may you have many happy years together," the old woman says smugly.

Shortly afterwards Naruko speaks up, the sound of her voice deadly and dripping with murder, he also didn't miss how her teeth were fangs. Though he didn't show it, the sound of her voice mixed with her sadistic grin made his blood turn cold. Thankfully the other elder dragged the old woman away before things got out of hand.

**OoOoOo**

Finally after several hours of people congratulating them before helping themselves to refreshments, the so called reception was finally over. The only guests remaining were Tsunade and Jiraiya. Tsunade only gives her a small smile as she hands Naruko her set of keys to the Uchiha compound. She then proceeds to glare at Sasuke, sending him silent threats of pain and agony should he harm her goddaughter in any way before walking away. Jiraiya then places his hand on Naruko's shoulder and then gives her a soft smile before also leaving.

When they left Hokage tower the hour was late and the streets were practically empty, with the exception of the occasional drunk trying to find their way home. And though her kimono was comfortable, the plethora of underskirts made it hard for her to walk, soon Sasuke was no longer in her field of vision. He didn't seem to care that she was no longer behind him, nor concerned that she didn't know where the Uchiha compound was. Sighing Naruko closes her eyes and feels for Sasuke's chakra, finding it easily. But being not overly eager at having to live with the teme, she takes her time and walks around a little while before finally approaching the front gates. Being nervous, which doesn't happen very often, she slowly opens the gate and makes her way to the main house, which was surrounded by gardens and several koi ponds, fountains included. The grounds were beautiful, even the many buildings that she presumed to be abandoned looked well kept even though they hadn't been lived in for many years.

The main house was equally as beautiful and with its old style architecture had an aura of mystery about it. Feeling nervous again, Naruko swallows loudly before opening the front door, once inside her jaw drops in amazement. The wooden floors, dark cherry in color, mixed with the creamy color of the walks makes a feeling of warmth spread through her being. Book cases line the walls of the main living area, all full books and scrolls whose contents she could only guess at. In the center of the room, four large plush looking couches sit arranged in a square surrounding a glass coffee table, there were also several doors leading to other parts of the house.

"I wonder where my room is…" she says aloud to no one in particular.

"The bedrooms are through the door to your right which leads to a hallway and your room is the second door on the left," Sasuke says as he suddenly appears directly in front of her, making her flinch in surprise. "The kitchen is through this door, that door leads outside," he continues pointing to each door. "And then the last door on the right in the bedroom wing is the bathroom."

"Thank you."

"Hn."

Suddenly feeling tired Naruko walks through the door that Sasuke had said led to the bedrooms and then walks up to the second door on the left. Sighing she opens the door, expecting to see a plain room with her stuff sitting in boxes. Instead a large bed covered in a giant bright orange plush comforter with many equally plush looking pillows sits pushed up against the far right corner of the room. A thick carpet covers most of the floor, but at the edges of the room, the dark wooden floors could still be seen. There was also a simple desk with a chair pushed up against the opposite wall as her bed and the rest of the walls were then covered in more book cases that were overflowing with books and scrolls. Feeling a little overwhelmed, Naruko slowly walks into her new room after closing the door and stands there in awe because her old apartment wasn't even this extravagant. Noticing another door to her left she slides it open to reveal an enormous closet filled with clothes and a dresser that was also filled with various clothing items, some of the clothes even still had tags on them.

"Where did all of you come from?" she asks the clothes. "Guess I'll ask grandma Tsunade next time I see her. Now, do I want a bath and then sleep or sleep and just take one tomorrow…" a sudden yawn quickly answers question, and after rummaging through her dresser and pulling out a pair of blue boy shorts and a bright orange t-shirt, she quickly changes before allowing herself to collapse onto her new bed and quickly drifts off to sleep.

**OoOoOo**

He knew that somewhere along the way Naruko had fallen behind, but honestly he really didn't care, she would find the Uchiha compound…eventually. Though he did think that she looked beautiful in her dress, the different shades of blue had really brought out her eyes, but he would never admit it to anybody. He would also never admit that he had gotten worried when Naruko still hadn't shown up even after he had already bathed and was preparing to go to bed, but when he finally heard the door open he felt a tiny sense of relief. He had heard her wondering aloud where her room was and only because he didn't want her to snoop he explained what was where before going to the kitchen for a glass of water. He had also seen her standing in the doorway with her jaw hanging open in amazement at her room. After a few minutes she had closed the door and presumably went to sleep. Not caring if her room was adequate enough he went to his own room and collapsed into his own bed, but for some reason he couldn't fall asleep.

The way she looked at that Haru guy earlier, how her eyes sparkled when he walked into the room, there was something about that that bugged him and he didn't know why. The question of what he was going to do with his life was also eating away at his conscious. What should he do now? Tsunade had told him it would be around a year before he would be reinstated as a shinobi, but honestly is that what he really wanted? To go on missions and risk his life for a village he felt no need to protect? Then what about reviving his clan? He wanted to ensure that the Uchiha name would endure and not end with him, and the thought of him doing that with the dobe only stirred up more emotions and questions. He didn't love her and surely would never think of having a family with her and surely she felt the same. He could remember when they were younger that the dobe would talk with Sakura about how someday she wanted to have a big family sometimes during missions. She would go on about how she wanted two boys and two girls in alternating order so they would never be alone and would have someone to talk to, unlike her.

Sometime in the near future the elders, particularly lady Koharu, would come knocking on his door demanding children. Maybe they would allow them to get a divorce once they realized that children between him and the dobe was never going to happen. Then he would be free to marry someone other than her and maybe start a family that way, or he could leave again and make sure this time that nobody could find him. Though if he chose to leave he would be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life and what kind of life is that? Being unable to stop the nagging questions in his mind and becoming agitated from lying in bed chasing after something that wasn't going to come, he rolls out of bed and goes to the living room to read one of the many books that called the bookshelves home.


	3. Chapter 3: Strength

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed! You are all awesome! And thanks to awesomeinhumanfrom for helping me to correct any mistakes.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything**

**Chapter 3: Strength **

She had woken with a start, forgetting where she was, but the memories of the previous day's events remind her brain. _Oh right, I'm married now and living with Sasuke,_ but the sound of her stomach complaining loudly interrupts her thoughts. Quickly she jumps out of bed and dresses in a different orange t-shirt and black shorts, since she had the week off she could wear her favorite color proudly, and then proceeds to the kitchen. But as she closes her door and turns around she bumps into something that causes her and whatever she collided with to fall on the ground.

"Get off dobe," a cold voice commands harshly. Opening her eyes, Naruko sees that she had ran into Sasuke and now they were both on the ground with Naruko having fallen in his lap. And to make matters worse, he was shirtless.

"Sorry!"she exclaims as she quickly climbs off Sasuke's lap, her cheeks bright red. Embarrassed at the awkward situation she had found herself in, Naruko hastily runs into the kitchen, leaving a scowling Sasuke sitting on the hallway floor. Once she was safely in the kitchen, she lets out a small giggle before going and raiding the fridge. The kitchen was nothing like she had pictured it would look. The cabinets matched the dark wood of the floor and their surface was covered with black flawless granite, accented by a dark backsplash. The appliances were also all stainless steel and top of the line, overall the kitchen was flawless and was fit for a king. "I bet grandma Tsunade's house isn't this nice," she says to the empty room as she stands there in awe, but her grumbling stomach quickly reminds her why she was in the kitchen in the first place. Ramen is and always will be her favorite food, but ever since she had made jounin and attained the rank of ANBU captain she had to start eating better and taking better care of her body. Thus with the help of Sakura she had learned how to cook and it turned out that she was actually pretty good at it. So after digging around through the cabinets and refrigerator she decided that a vegetable and ham omelet sounded delicious, and in no time the sound of cracking eggs and vegetables being cut echoed throughout the kitchen.

"What should I do today?" she asks as she takes another bite of her steaming breakfast. "I wish grandma Tsunade hadn't given me a weak off, it's not even been a day and I'm bored already…guess I'll go train after I clean up," and with her decision made she downs the rest of her breakfast before washing the dishes and setting them out to dry. She then goes to her room to change into her blood red tank top and black cargo pants, secure her hair in a braid and grab her weapons. Ever since joining ANBU she had become fond of using a sword and especially so after she had found two identical blades that had been abandoned in some ancient ruins. It was as if they were made for her, they were the perfect the size for her and also made out of special chakra conducting metal. Immediately she had claimed them as their own and in no time she was an expert in using them.

Once she was ready to go, she walks out into the living room with a happy spring in her step, only pausing when she sees Sasuke sitting on one of the couches reading as usual. "Is that all you do?" she asks sarcastically, earning herself a glare from him. Feeling agitated and instead of just walking out the door Naruko continues to talk, "just reading those stupid jutsu scrolls won't get you any stronger, you actually have to train to do that," she taunts.

"Please, I can beat you whenever I want dobe."

"Prove it. I'll be at training ground seven," and with that she disappears in a whirlwind of leaves.

**OoOoOo**

"You're going to regret saying that," he says to the now empty room before returning the scroll to its rightful place and going to his room. He knew that he was stronger than the dobe and could easily put her in her place. Since he was feeling restless and itching to release his pent up energy he would take on the dobe and show her just how weak she was, the thought forming an arrogant smirk on his face. After taking his time in getting dressed into a pair of black ninja pants and a high collared dark blue shirt with the Uchiha symbol on the back, he grabs his own sword and leaves through the front door. This was going to be interesting. And when he had finally reached the training grounds where the dobe said she would be, he was surprised to see her just sitting there meditating.

**OoOoOo**

This is something that she had been wanting to do for a long time, to beat that arrogant smirk off his arrogant face, and today she was the day she was going to do it. So now she was sitting there while waiting for him to make an appearance. She knew that he would show because his damn pride would make sure he would come. She was going to enjoy this, the thought making her smile and her fangs to reveal themselves.

"Ready to get your ass kicked?" she asks playfully as she senses the teme's chakra, her voice filled with the same deadly sweetness as when she had silently threatened lady Koharu.

"Don't get your hopes up dobe," he answers, his voice equally deadly and his sharingan activated. She quickly noticed that his eyes were different and stores the thought in the back of her mind. Standing up she draws her swords that were strapped on her back, their perfect silver blades glinting with deadly intent in the late morning sun.

"Get ready teme, I'm not going to hold back."

"Hn," he replies as he also draws his own sword as it begins to crackle with energy and in a flash their blades crash together and send sparks flying into the air. This wasn't going to be like any normal spar between rivals, no this was a battle that would finally decide who was stronger.

Faster than the eye could see, she separates from him and disappears and then reappears directly behind him, but her sword only cuts through air. Feigning ignorance she stands there with a look of confusion on her face, only to change to a smile when she feels the cold blade of Sasuke's sword against her neck.

"You never change teme, you're always relying on those eyes of yours. But you must be losing your touch. Genjutsu won't work on me," she taunts as she evaporates into thin air, rematerializing in a nearby tree. Deciding that swords weren't going to get them anywhere, she puts them back into their sheaths and prepares her next strategy. He was a lightning and fire user, but from what she knew, he mostly relied on lightning, thankfully she could counter him. Knowing exactly what she was going to do, she leaves her hiding place and stands confidently before her opponent.

**OoOoOo**

He looks at her with an arched eyebrow, was she really that stupid? After she had disappeared and masked her chakra perfectly he couldn't sense her presence anywhere. If she were smart she would have taken him by surprise and actually had a chance at beating him. But instead there she was standing in front of him, her swords not even drawn. Slightly irritated by her weakness he makes the next move. "Fire Style: fireball jutsu!" he yells out as a colossal fireball explodes from his mouth that threatens to engulf the seemingly defenseless dobe making a smirk form on his face. But what happened next he didn't expect.

"Water Style: water shock wave!" he hears her yell and suddenly out of nowhere a giant wave of water appears and engulfs the fireball, resulting in a thick cloud of steam forming and surrounding them.

_ So the dobe knows water release, not that it matters._ Taking advantage of the reduced visibility he starts forming the hand signs necessary for his next jutsu, "Fire Style: phoenix flower jutsu!" At his command several jets of fire shoot from his mouth in a circular pattern and race towards Naruko, unknown to her that a surprise was waiting for her inside the jets of fire.

**OoOoOo**

She could sense that he had released his next jutsu, and by the feel of the chakra it was another fire jutsu, she also knew that it was a distraction. So instead of trying to counter it with a jutsu of her own she just simply allows herself to be engulfed by the soil around her and slips into safety. She allows several minutes to pass by before resurfacing, greeted by the sight of several shuriken imbedded into the ground. _The sneaky bastard thought he would pull a fast one, guess we're playing dirty now…_

Quickly she makes the hand signs necessary for her next jutsu and creates four blood clones. Blood clones were stronger and more stable than shadow clones, meaning that they wouldn't disappear after one hit and they could withstand several before finally disappearing in a puff of smoke. So after the clones were made and some of her chakra was transferred into each of them, she puts the rest of her plan into motion. She could sense the teme was gathering chakra, lightning chakra to be specific, and a grin couldn't help but form on her face and she could easily counter anything the teme could throw at her. It only took her about a year to attain the rank of ANBU captain and even less than that to make her name known throughout the entire organization. Soon after joining everyone wanted her to be a part of their division, but she had turned all of them down but one and that was the assassination and infiltration unit. As for the jutsu she could wield, she didn't have a limit because thanks to the kyuubi within her she could control all of the basic chakra natures and even some of their higher forms. But just because she could wield them didn't mean that she was an expert. For instance she found that she could wield wind and water the best and only through hours upon hours of training she had become proficient with the others.

"Lightning Style: one thousand birds thunderstorm!" a voice calls out, disrupting her thoughts and a ball of lightning forms in his hand before turning into numerous lightning bolts that start speeding towards her.

"Wind Style: shockwave!" she yells out clapping her hands together in front of her just as the lightning starts to surround her. Her jutsu sending out a wave of wind laced chakra that cuts through the lightning bolts that quickly dispels them. "Gonna have to do better than that!" she taunts, making an evil scowl overcome his face.

**OoOoOo**

After the last attack and at seeing how easily she countered it made his blood boil. How was the dobe able to counter everything he threw at her? Was she really that strong? And not to mention how was she able to use jutsu from all the basic chakra natures? When he had hidden those shuriken in his phoenix flower jutsu she had sunk into the ground and remained there until it was safe to come out he couldn't believe it. Now she was standing there mocking him, saying that his S-ranked jutsu wasn't good enough, he couldn't take it anymore! Yes, he would use that move, even if it cost him the rest of his chakra and could potentially kill her, a sadistic grin overtaking his face. After he used this jutsu she wouldn't challenge him anymore and he would finally take his place at the top.

Still with the evil grin on his face he forms several hand signs before yelling out, "Fire Jutsu: great dragon fire!" The moment he finished forming the hand signs, an enormous dragon shaped fireball shoots out of his mouth and into the sky, immediately making the once sunny sky to become dark and colossal black thunderheads to form.

He could see the surprise on her face when his jutsu completely missed her and instead went up into the sky, which made him smirk. There was no way that she could dodge or counter this jutsu, she was done for.

**OoOoOo**

The moment his jutsu completely missed her and went up into the sky, she couldn't help but be surprised. Had he missed? No, he couldn't have because she could clearly see the smirk that had formed on his face. He was up to something, and the sudden sound of thunder struck of cord of fear in her being. He wasn't just trying to knock her out or wound her so that she wouldn't be able to fight anymore, no he was serious and if this next jutsu was successful it would probably kill her.

"So it has come to this," she says to herself, somewhat sadly. But what should she do? She could clearly feel the air around her become heavy and charged with chakra, it was so heavy that it was making it hard for her to breathe. It was most likely a lightning jutsu that he was planning that utilized him superheating the atmosphere and creating lightning that he could control. She didn't have any wind jutsu in her arsenal that could defend against something of that magnitude, so what should she do? She could try that one jutsu she had been working on…supposedly it was her father's signature jutsu. Grandma Tsunade had told her about her parents almost a year ago and ever since then she had been trying to figure out her father's signature technique, the hiraishin or also deemed the flying thunder god jutsu. Her proficiency with the jutsu wasn't a hundred percent but she had more successes than failures, so yes she would try it because it was probably the only way to avoid the jutsu that Sasuke was about to use.

A sudden deafening roar of thunder signals that her time to think was up, so quickly she reaches into one of her weapons pouches and procures several oddly shaped three pronged kunai and throws them using wind chakra to make them fly further. Once they had all successfully imbedded themselves into various objects that she had deemed a safe distance, she enters a defensive stance, every single one of her muscles ready to act in a moment's notice.

**OoOoOo**

He saw her throw several oddly shaped kunai, but they all missed so he quickly put it out of his mind because his jutsu was ready. He had superheated the atmosphere which resulted in enormous black clouds forming above their heads, the roar of thunder soon becoming deafening. It was time. The jutsu that would prove once and for all that he was the strongest was ready. He would make her pay…With confidence he forms a chidori in his right hand and raises it up into the air, doing so making a large thunderbolt in the shape of a dragon's head to emerge from the clouds.

"Don't even try to counter this because there is nothing you can do to defend yourself from my ultimate jutsu," he says as he sees her enter a defensive position. "I will end this pointless battle here and now!" With confidence he brings his hand down, the dragon shaped thunderbolt obeying his movements and starts to speed towards Naruko. Her doom was inevitable, his jutsu was going to destroy her…sure it might seem a little rash and over the top, but she had made his blood boil and all of his pent up anger needed release.

**OoOoOo**

Just as the enormous dragon shaped bolt exited the sky, she was ready, but a feeling of nervousness and unease couldn't help but make her blood turn cold and a look of fear form on her face. He really wasn't messing around. He was actually trying to kill her! Quickly deciding that it was her only option, she concentrates and feels for the chakra that she had imbedded inside her father's kunai. Finding it with ease she quickly activates her jutsu, and just as the massive lightning bolt was about to consumer her, she disappears. Faster than a heartbeat she reappears on the ground next to one of the kunai she had thrown earlier just in time to see the lightning dragon crash into the ground, sending chunks of earth and numerous trees into the sky and creating a crater where she once stood.

Right as she started getting off the ground to continue the fight, a sharp pain in her leg makes her yelp and fall back onto the ground. Worriedly she looks at her left leg to see that her pant leg was ripped just above her knee, the exposed flesh burnt and bleeding.

"Dammit!" she yells out in frustration, "looks like I waited too long to teleport." But knowing that she would never hear the end of it, she ignores the pain and stands up before reappearing only feet in front of Sasuke. But just as she was about to say something a shinobi wearing a standard ANBU uniform appears between them.

"Lady Naruko, the hokage requests your presence right away," he says from behind his mask.

"I'll be right there," she replies slightly agitated, the messenger disappearing at hearing her words. "We will finish this later," and with that she too disappears.

**OoOoOo**

He thought that he had won the match after using his jutsu, but once the smoke had cleared the dobe was nowhere to be seen. For a split second her chakra disappeared but after searching for it he quickly found her, she was hidden in the trees. But he didn't expect her to reappear right before him and wounded. _Looks like she didn't get away completely unscathed, but she's wounded so I can easily win now,_ he thinks to himself. But just as the dobe was about to say something an ANBU agent stops her words.

"Lady Naruko, the hokage requests your presence right away," the masked ANBU says, quickly disappearing once his message was delivered.

"We will finish this later," she says to him, her voice dripping with venom. In a way he was happy that their little match was stopped seeing how he was out of chakra, but he was also disappointed because he wanted to win, no he had to win. So with a frustrated sigh he grabs his sword that he had dropped some time during their battle and sheathes it before walking back to his house, not knowing that his movements were being watched.


	4. Chapter 4: Rescue

**A/N: Here is the next chapter! Please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. **

**Chapter 4: Rescue**

As quickly as her injured leg would let her, she runs to grandma Tsunade's office and as usual walks right in without knocking, which earns her a glare from the busty hokage. "What is the emergency grandma Tsunade?"

"Care to explain why you're bleeding?" Tsunade asks with an arched eyebrow.

"Oh it's nothing, I was practicing a new jutsu and it backfired," she replies with a smile.

"If you say so. Anyway," she continues on after a short pause, "I have called you all here because something has happened in Suna," everyone in the room letting out a silent gasp at her words. "The kazekage has been taken by the akatsuki and they have asked for our aid in retrieving him and defeating the ones who took him. You have all been called here because you have been chosen based off your skills to achieve those objectives. Kakashi."

"Yes lady Tsunade?" said silver-haired shinobi replies.

"Your team will consist of Naruko, Sakura and you. You will also be captain over the two groups. Team Gai will follow Kakashi's orders, understand?"

"Yes lady Tsunade," everyone replies in unison.

"You have fifteen minutes to gather whatever supplies you deem essential and then meet at the front gates. This is an S-ranked mission and you will complete it at all costs. You are all dismissed, except for you Naruko." Hastily everyone disappears from the room, leaving the two of them alone. "Naruko, what really happened to your leg? I have had reports of what looked like an all out battle between you and Sasuke taking place. Explain now," Tsunade commands.

"We were just sparring, it's nothing really. And I honestly was trying to use a new jutsu and it didn't work out like I had thought it would. I'm fine, really. My leg will heal in a few hours once the kyuubi's chakra kicks in so it won't be a problem."

"Are you sure that you are telling me the truth?"

"Of course grandma Tsunade. But I've got a question, how did you convince the elders to let me go on this mission?"

"I didn't, so that is why you need to gather your supplies as quickly as possible and leave before they can stop you. Yes it is dangerous to send you on this mission but you are one of my best and this mission requires me to send the best. But just promise me one thing, that if things begin to turn in the akatsuki's favor you will get out of there."

"You know that won't happen grandma Tsunade. I will never abandon my friends."

"I know but hearing you say that you will makes me feel better."

"Then I promise to high tail it to safety like a coward if things turn sour. Happy?"

"Just get out of here and on the road before I regret sending you," Tsunade teases, earning a grin from the young girl standing before her.

**OoOoOo**

He did feel a little guilty for using such a deadly jutsu on her when he saw her wounded leg. But she didn't die so he didn't feel too bad. He was curious however at why she had been called so suddenly to the hokage's office. By the tone of the messenger's voice it sounded urgent, perhaps something happened. However deciding that it had nothing to do with him, he returned back to his room and cleaned himself up. The dobe had managed to land several blows to him, and not to mention that he had given himself several wounds when he used his kirin jutsu. It was a truly powerful jutsu but because it was so powerful it had a high price. Because of its immense destructive power that destroyed anything in its path, the user usually receives some damage and it also requires a vast amount of chakra. At first he didn't think that he would be able to even make it back to his room because he was so exhausted, the fight took more out of him than he would like to admit. But he was still angry because he could feel that she was holding back, she was hiding some kind of truly devastating power, and that bugged him. They would finish their fight, eventually.

Once he had showered and changed out of his soiled clothes, he decided to continue what he was doing before the dobe had interrupted him, but he was interrupted again when the front door opened and the blonde dobe walked in. She looked horrible, her face was pale and she looked like she was in pain, it was then he noticed just how bad her leg was. Where his jutsu had made contact with her her pants were ripped and fused to her skin the fabric having melted because of the lightning. He could also see that the rest of her pant leg was saturated with blood thanks to the large gash on her leg. It amazed him that she was still able to walk with her leg being in the condition it is, not to mention conscious because it had to be painful.

**OoOoOo**

The pain in her leg was almost unbearable. Somehow she managed to run/walk back to the Uchiha compound. Thankfully the kyuubi's chakra had already started working and by the time she got there the pain had become more tolerable, if only slightly. When she got there, the teme was as usual sitting on one of the couches reading a jutsu scroll, and ignoring him she quickly goes to her room to change her clothes, resupply and bandage her leg. She couldn't help but let out a small yelp of pain when she pressed a disinfectant soaked cloth to her leg before wrapping it tightly in multiple layers of bandages that quickly turned red with blood. Just as she was all packed and quickly stopping to grab a bottle of water, a knock on the front door makes her stop dead. Somehow she knew who it was and she didn't want to answer it. She was just going to ignore it and sneak out the back, but it was too late, Sasuke had already answered the door.

"Where is she?" a familiar voice demands. Instead of saying anything, Sasuke just leaves her standing there and goes back to his reading.

"What do you want?" she asks coldly, walking out from the kitchen.

"You will not go on this mission."

"So sorry but I don't care what you want. I am going on this mission so get over it," her reply making the lady elder's face turn red with anger. "Gaara is my friend and I will save him, I will not abandon my friends," a fiery determination in her voice. "Now if you'll excuse me I need to meet up with the others," she says as she walks past lady Koharu towards the front door. But what the old cow says next stops her dead in her tracks.

"I'm sure lady Tsunade told you what would happen if you should go against our wishes."

"Yeah, seal my chakra and take away my status as a kunoichi. I don't really care about that right-"

"It seems that she didn't tell you everything," lady Koharu interrupts, her voice smug and a triumphant smile forms on her face once she sees Naruko turn around to face her with confusion in her own face.

"What do you mean?"

"It wouldn't be just your chakra that would be sealed away. If you go against our orders then you will be sealed away and kept in a safe location for the next time your services are needed. Meaning the world will continue on without you while you sleep peacefully."

So if she refused to be their puppet they were going to seal her away and take away her freedom, the thought enraging her and replacing her blood with a white hot fire. "Listen to me you old cow," her voice quiet at first before gradually gaining volume, as well as her fangs starting to show, "I am not some weapon that you can use whenever you feel like it, I am my own person and I will not let you control me! I am going to save Gaara even if that means that I have to destroy every last akatsuki member to do it! I will not abandon my friends! A person who goes against the rules is scum, but a person who abandons their friends is something worse than scum. So I am going and I will not let you stop me. You and the rest of the elders need to get off their pedestals and take a good look around. You cannot use the people that are under your command to do whatever pleases you! Instead you should be doing whatever you can to help better their lives and make this village a better place. I'm going now so you can seal me away whenever I get back. That is if I even come back…the only reason I am still here is because my father and mother loved this place and gave their lives defending it and I will not let their sacrifices be in vain!" With that she walks through the door, leaving lady Koharu standing there with her mouth hanging open.

**OoOoOo**

Had he heard right? That if she didn't marry him and do as the elders please, then they would seal her away? Hearing that did something to him, it sent an angry spark throughout his body and he didn't know why. He also didn't know why he threw the scroll he was reading forcefully onto the coffee table and walk over to the stuck up woman who was standing there with her mouth open. "So it's like I thought, you did force her into this marriage. You are no longer welcome within the Uchiha compound so leave now or else I will force you to leave," his voice full of malice and hatred. Being too shocked to say anything, lady Koharu turns around and leaves. Once the elder was gone he pulls on his zori and walks out the door, quickly finding himself outside the door to the hokage's office and without even knocking he walks right in.

"What is it with you people not knocking?!" Tsunade yells out, throwing a pen at his head but being him he dodges it easily.

"Why is Naruko being sent to Suna?" he asks plainly.

"Gaara was taken by the akatsuki and Suna has requested our assistance. Why do you ask?"

"The hag Koharu just came barging into my house commanding Naruko that she was not to leave on the mission. She also said that if Naruko left then she would be sealed away. Naruko was surprised to learn this. She thought that her chakra would only be sealed, not her conscious as well. Why did you not tell her the whole truth?"

"I couldn't, but I as well as a few others would not have let that happen. In the chance that Naruko had refused to marry you, there was a backup plan to smuggle her out of the village and hide her in Suna until things blew over. But I am assuming that she left for the mission anyway."

"Not before putting the old hag in her place. Why did you assign her the mission? You had to have known the elders would not approve and would threaten to act on their threats."

"Because she would have gone anyway once she found out, regardless of being granted permission by me."

"Will the elders go through with their threats? Because with Suna in their current state, they would not be able to hide her."

"You sound concerned for her," Tsunade says with her eyebrow raised.

"Hn."

"Don't worry Naruko will be kept safe. I will talk with the elders tomorrow since it is getting rather late. But anyway, I am glad you are here. You see when Naruko answered her summons she wasn't in the best condition. She said that she was training and a jutsu she was experimenting with backfired, but the condition of training ground seven says otherwise. What if you had killed her?" her voice rising in anger. "You are both supposed to be on the same side and attacking a fellow shinobi with the intent to kill is punishable by death, regardless of who you are."

"My goal wasn't to kill her," he lies. "Our spar was to prove who was the strongest, nothing more."

"If anything like that happens again, I will punish first and ask questions second. Understood?"

"Hn," he mumbles before leaving and returning to his room, earning a scowl from lady Tsunade.

Once back at his room, he collapses onto the bed. Tsunade had accused him of caring for the dobe, the thought making him frown. But did he care for her? Why did he feel the urge to want to rip the old elder's throat out from hearing her threaten the dobe? They had only been married for a few short days and he could already feel something inside of him changing. Though he would never admit to anyone that maybe he secretly cared for her. Nor he would ever admit that the smell of her rose scented shampoo was intoxicating to him and the way she smiled that made her eyes sparkle sent shivers down his spine. No, he would not let himself start to care about her…

**OoOoOo**

They reached Suna in a matter of days, thankfully her wound had finished healing by the time they started traveling after their first night of rest. When they arrived a few days later they were greeted by Temari and several other jounin level shinobi, all with somber faces. Immediately Sakura was whisked away to the hospital to help tend to a poisoned Kankuro. They were told that he had been poisoned by one of the akatsuki members who was a former Suna shinobi who was fond of using poisons. They were also filled in on the details of what happened when Gaara was knocked unconscious and taken by the two S-ranked criminals. With the help of some of Suna's tacticians, a retrieval plan was made and at first light team Kakashi and team Gai were to leave in pursuit of the dangerous criminals and to rescue the kazekage. Thankfully by the time they were set to leave, Sakura along with one of the village's elders had created an antidote for the poison. And because Sakura had impressed the elder so much, lady Chiyo also decided to join in and help save Gaara.

Once they had left at first light, Neji had easily found the sand trail that Gaara had left with his byakugan and by late afternoon they had found their hideout. The only problem was that a giant boulder with a difficult seal to break was blocking their path. Again thanks to Neji's eyes they quickly formulated a plan that would allow them to break the seal and enter the cave, only learning that the seal was a diversion to split them up once they broke it. Falling into their trap they were indeed separated, team Gai to deal with their doppelganger and team Kakashi plus lady Chiyo to deal with whatever awaited them. So with Sakura's inhuman strength, she made quick work of the boulder, and once the dust had cleared they were all shocked to see what was inside.

The moment she laid eyes upon the one that was called Deidara sitting on Gaara's lifeless body, she was seeing red. Immediately her eyes turned a bright crimson and her teeth formed into fangs, a feral growl escaping her throat and a murderous aura beginning to permeate from her body.

"Just where the hell do you think you are sitting?" she growls out, her voice almost inhuman as she stands only feet away from the two akatsuki members.

"Naruko get back!" Kakashi orders, but his words fall on deaf ears.

"Look danna, we've found another jinchuriki and we didn't even have to go looking this time, it came right to us, yeah."

"Be quiet brat, start acting seriously so we can get this one as well before leader becomes impatient. It is rude to keep others waiting," the other akatsuki member says, his voice deep and raspy completely devoid of all emotion.

"Get the hell off of him!" she yells out, which only makes the one sitting on Gaara smirk.

"Danna, leave this one to me, I'll take care of it. You can deal with the others, un."

"Deidara, you better not fail."

"Don't worry danna," the one deemed Deidara says as he finally stands up before plunging his right hand into his clay pouch. He then removes it and to everyone's disgust, his hand regurgitates its contents, the clay taking on the shape of a bird that grows larger at his command. It then hops over to Gaara's fallen body and stuffs him into its mouth before Deidara jumps on its back and flies out of the cave. Being completely enraged she rushes out after him, ignoring Kakashi's command to come back.

"Sakura, I need to go after her. Can you and lady Chiyo take care of this one?"

"Yes sensei, we'll be fine. Go and make sure Naruko doesn't do anything stupid," Sakura replies. Without looking back he runs out of the cave after Naruko.

She was chasing after him, using the roots that had grown in between the small canyon as leverage. She was beyond reason. The pain of losing the one person who understands the burdens of being a jinchuriki was unbearable, fueling the rage inside of her. She would not let him to be taken away so she was going to rescue him no matter the cost.

Soon the canyon ended and the terrain gave way to a giant forest, somehow her prey had managed to escape her sight, but she could feel his chakra and he was just up ahead, but she soon comes to an abrupt halt because there in a small clearing was Gaara lying motionless in the dirt. She knew he was dead because she had been told that a jinchuriki can no longer survive once the tailed beast was removed, so she didn't care that it was probably a trap as she appears next to his lifeless body and cradles his head in her arms. "I'll make sure they pay for what they did to you," she whispers as she runs her fingers through his crimson hair.

"Naruko," Kakashi says as he appears next to her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"He's gone Kakashi-sensei. I didn't get here in time."

"It's not your fault Naruko…"

"All I want to do is find the ones responsible and make them suffer for what they did."

"We will avenge Gaara, but we need to do it logically. You can't beat them all on your own, after all the one who battled Gaara defeated him singlehandedly."

"I know…it's just that I am so angry and all I want to do is beat that three mouthed freak to a bloody pulp."

"Hey who are you calling a freak, un?" said akatsuki member asks as he appears on the clay bird he had created, hovering just above them. "You're going to regret calling me that jinchuriki. I am going to drain the life out of you just like I did to your friend. You should have seen the pathetic look on his face when he realized that he had lost. And then there were his screams of pain as we were removing the one tails, so pathetic. But I'm actually surprised that his village sent people to rescue him, after all he isn't anything but a monster, a mere weapon to be used whenever he is needed, un."

"Gaara isn't a monster!" she growls murderously as she suddenly appears in the air next to the blonde bomber and punches him with such force that he is thrown from his perch and onto the ground, the force of the impact creating a small crater and causing several of the trees to snap. Now her eyes were glowing the same color of the fox cloak that had formed around her, three tails making themselves visible. "I am going to kill you!" her voice an inhuman growl as she appears next to him on the ground and begins to hound him with bone breaking punches.

"Naruko!" Kakashi yells out as he pulls her away from Deidara.

"Get away sensei! I am going to defeat him on my own. Go help the others!"

"I can't do that Naruko. We will do this together-" but Deidara's crazed laugh interrupts him.

"I am going to destroy you, yeah!" he proclaims as he plunges both of his hands into his clay pouches and pulls out two handfuls before stuffing the clay into his mouth. Instantaneously his body begins to bulge abnormally, growing bigger by the second.

"Naruko we have to get out of here! Something isn't right!" Kakashi yells out as he grabs Gaara's body and turns to grab her shoulder. But he immediately withdraws his hand as pain shoots up his arm from touching the red aura surrounding her body. "Naruko!" he yells out again only to get the same result. Letting out a frustrated sigh he creates a shadow clone that takes Gaara's body and disappears in a whirl of leaves. Then he uncovers his closed left eye and begins to gather an immense amount of chakra. He only had one shot, if his next jutsu missed then they would both die. Just as Deidara's body was four times its normal size it begins to glow and in a matter of seconds explodes, and the moment it does Kakashi opens his eye to reveal his changed sharingan. The fireball created from the release of energy speeds towards them but stops abruptly as it is sucked into a black hole that suddenly appears next to it. Just as the fireball was almost completely sucked in, the black hole disappears and the remaining fiery vortex continues to speed towards them. Exhausted from using so much chakra Kakashi falls to his knees unable to move anymore. Right as the fireball was about to make contact with them a giant wall appears between them, taking the brunt of the force when the fireball collides with it. But the residual shockwave shatters the wall and sends both Naruko and Kakashi flying.

"Sensei, are y-you o-okay?" she stutters out, panting heavily as blood begins to seep out of the many cuts she had sustained from the shards of hardened earth that had been sent flying when the fireball made impact with the wall. "I made the wall o-or else-" but before she could finish her eyes roll into the back of her head as her legs give out and she falls to the ground unconscious.

"Naruko!"

**A/N: So I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! So this story is going to follow the anime and include Pein destroying the village and the war, just with my own take on it as well as having Sasuke in the village and stuff. I know I said that in the last chapter things about what happened to Itachi would be revealed but I just didn't feel like it fit in with this chapter so it will happen in the next one. **

**Thanks again for all the great reviews and your continued support! You're all wonderful people! **


	5. Chapter 5: Truth

**WOW! You guys are freaking awesome! I never thought that this story would be this popular! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited and followed.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything**

**Chapter 5: Truth**

The last thing she remembered was seeing a fireball racing towards herself and Kakashi and out of reflex she had created a wall made of hardened earth so that they wouldn't be killed. Then she remembers checking on Kakashi before her body gave out and darkness took her into its depths. But now it felt like she was lying on something soft and an annoying beeping sound was beginning to irritate her. Slowly she opens her eyes so they could adjust to the light to see that she was in some sort of hospital and hooked up to a heart monitor, only she wasn't in the Konoha hospital.

"Where am I?" she asks, her voice raspy and dry.

"You're in the hospital in Suna," an all too familiar voice says back. Immediately tears begin to well up in her eyes when she sees his face.

"Gaara! How are you here? You…you were d-dead."

"I was, but lady Chiyo revived me," he replies as he moves to sit in the chair next to her bed.

"Sh-she revived you? But how?"

"By transferring her life force into me."

"So that means she's dead?"

"Yes, her funeral was yesterday. Naruko, why are you crying?" he asks upon seeing the tears leaking out of her eyes and falling onto the white bed sheets.

"I'm just sad, I couldn't save you and grandma Chiyo died because I wasn't strong enough."

"Naruko," he says scooting his chair closer so he could look into her eyes. "You are not weak and if it weren't for you I wouldn't be here right now because you did save me. Thank you," but at hearing his words the tears only start to fall faster as her body starts to convulse from her sobs, even more so when Gaara moves to sit on the bed and wrap his arms around her. They stay like that for a long time, all of her pent up frustration and anger escaping through her tears. Finally they subside and are replaced with hiccups, making Gaara laugh. "Feel better?" he asks as he removes his arms but remains sitting on her bed.

"Yes th-thank you," she hiccups.

"Those tears weren't just for lady Chiyo and I were they? Lady Tsunade has filled me in about your wedding to the Uchiha." Upon seeing the confused look on her face he continues, "Lady Tsunade and I made a plan that if you had refused to marry the Uchiha then to avoid you being sealed away you would be kept safe here."

"Oh…"

"He isn't hurting you is he?" his voice full of concern.

"No, it's not like that. He hates me and barely acknowledges my presence. He hates me for bringing him back to the village, but when I found him he was dying and if I hadn't then he would have died. And although he does hate me I still think of him as my friend and would do anything for him, that's why I agreed to marry him and not because of the elder's threats. I couldn't care less about their petty attempt to control me."

"Good."

"Huh?"

"I'm glad to see that they haven't stolen your fire. Naruko, no matter what happens you will always be welcome here and you will always have a safe place to return to," his sea foam green eyes full of kindness.

"Thank you Gaara, you are a good person." They then share a hug before Gaara stands and walks over to the door and opens it to reveal all of her friends that had come along on the mission, minus Kakashi.

"Naruko!" Sakura exclaims as she runs into the room and hugs her friend, but backs off when Naruko lets out a grunt of pain. "Sorry."

"It's okay. Where is Kakashi-sensei?"

"He's alright, he just used too much chakra. Give him another few days and then he will be back on his feet!" Gai proclaims as he strikes a pose, making everyone in the room, minus Lee, to roll their eyes.

"Yes and because of Naruko's brilliant youthfulness she will also be on her feet in no time!" Lee adds in striking an identical pose to his mentor's, this time Naruko starts to laugh uncontrollably and after several minutes is gasping for breath and cradling her sides with her hands. Once she was finished laughing everyone then takes their leave to let her rest before beginning their journey back to Konoha in the morning, and after two days of being carried by Neji, because Gai was carrying a still chakra exhausted Kakashi, they arrive back to the village. Not trusting her legs, Neji kindly offered to carry her back to the Uchiha compound and when they walk into the living room the last person she wanted to see was sitting at the dining table eating.

**OoOoOo**

He knew that the dobe was due back to the village any time, but he didn't expect for her to be carried into the house on the back of the Hyuga. Tsunade had informed him that the mission was successful and the kazekage was safe. But he couldn't help but feel slightly angered when he had learned that the dobe had been hurt. She was too reckless, letting her emotions get the best of her making her rush into things without fully assessing the situation.

"Thanks Neji, I think I can make it from here," she says to him as she slides off his back.

"Very well, good night Naruko," and after quickly glaring at Sasuke, Neji leaves. She then starts to walk back to her room, stumbling and almost falling over a few times but just as her legs gave out she suddenly found herself being held up by two strong arms.

He had seen her stumbling, she looked exhausted and he could tell her chakra levels were low and before he knew what he was doing he had gotten up from his seat and rushed over to catch her so she wouldn't hit the ground. She just looked at him, surprise obvious on her face. "Wh-what are you doing?" she stutters as a blush creeps its way onto her cheeks. Ignoring her question, he picks her up and carries her bridal style all the way to her room before 'lightly' tossing her onto her bed. "Teme! What the hell?!" she yells out as he turns to leave, a small smile forming on his lips as he closes the door and hears her yell death threats at him for throwing her. Eventually her yelling stops and when he walks by her room again after taking a bath he puts his ear up to her door to hear her steady breathing.

**OoOoOo**

After she had been tossed onto her bed she had been angry at first, but she couldn't help but smile. Was this his way of showing that he cared? Was there still some kindness left in his heart? Still feeling the effects of chakra exhaustion and being too tired to think anymore, she falls asleep with a smile on her face. Maybe things were changing for the better, if only for this moment.

So after getting a good night's rest the next morning her limbs felt stronger and she could successfully walk on her own. Since her week's worth of vacation was interrupted grandma Tsunade had given her another week off to rest and regain her strength and for once she was glad for it. It would give her time to visit with the pervy sage and she could also finally ask grandma Tsunade where all those new clothes and other new things in her room came from. Maybe she could even go to the hot spring and relax for a little while. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," she says aloud to herself as she finally forces herself to get out of bed and change into an orange tank top and a pair of midnight blue capris before going to the kitchen to fix her something to eat. And of course the teme had to be sitting there eating as well.

"Thanks for last night," she says once she sits down with her cup of instant ramen.

"Hn."

"Is that all you know how to say?" she asks playfully, instead he just ignores her. "Any plans for the day?" trying to keep the conversation going. "I'm going to try to find out where all those new clothes in my closet came from, as well as all the other new stuff." Several moments of silence pass and soon her cup was empty, "fine then, don't talk. It won't kill you to be sociable every once in a while you know," she says with a sigh as she gets up and disposes of her empty ramen cup before walking out through the front door.

After she had left she went to see grandma Tsunade and the mystery of her new things was answered, they had been a gift from her and the pervy sage. And it even turned out that it was the old perv who had picked out all the dresses and girly tops that she had stuffed into the back corner of her closet…she should have known. Tsunade had also told her that lady Koharu was going to back down with her threats and let her have a little more freedom, much to her relief. But unfortunately they weren't budging about her and Sasuke producing children, much to her displeasure. Granted they had only been married for about a week now, but a few months in the future they would be expecting results, the thought dampening her good mood. And to dampen it even more, it turned out the pervy sage had left in the middle of the night on some kind of important mission. Needing to talk to someone she soon found herself knocking on the one person's door she could talk to about anything with.

"Naruko? You look upset," Sakura says as she answers the door.

"Can I come in?"

"Of course!" Sakura smiles as she moves aside to let Naruko in. "You look troubled, want to talk about it?" she asks as they finally take a seat in Sakura's living room.

"The elders said they would lay off and let me go on missions and stuff."

"That's great, but why do you look so depressed? Shouldn't you be happy?"

"I am about that, but they still expect us to have children."

"Oh…"

"I'm hoping that after a while they will all realize that children between us isn't going to happen and let us get a divorce. But I can't get my hopes up."

"Naruko, everything is going to be okay. You have dozens of people willing to stand up for you and help you through things like this. Those damn elders will come to their senses eventually, but until then let your friends help you."

"Thanks Sakura, that means a lot," she says back quietly and after a short goodbye she takes her leave and heads back to the Uchiha compound just as the sun was setting.

**OoOoOo**

The whole day he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him, well other than the plethora of ANBU agents that followed him everywhere, but he could easily ignore them. This time however was different, the feeling constantly eating at him and making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. He didn't recognize the chakra signature, but whoever it was, they were powerful. Was it the akatsuki? They did take Gaara earlier and extract the one tails, perhaps now they had their sights set on the dobe? But why would they be watching him?

"Hello Sasuke," a menacing voice suddenly says from the shadows. He had been sitting on one of the couches reading a jutsu scroll, finishing just as the sun was setting, casting shadows throughout the house.

"Who's there?" he demands, standing up and drawing a kunai in the process, his sharingan activated.

"No need to get so fired up, I am here to talk," the voice says, a hint of amusement in his tone.

"Then show yourself!"

"Very well then," and suddenly a man wearing an akatsuki cloak with an orange swirled mask appears sitting in the couch opposite of him with his head resting on the back of his hand that was propped up on the couch arm.

"You're with the akatsuki," he says, stating the obvious. "I have nothing to say to you."

"Good, then let me do the talking. Take a seat," motioning for Sasuke to sit, which he reluctantly does. "Congratulations on finally defeating your brother, he was a powerful opponent indeed."

"Is that all you came here to say?"

"Just be patient, I have a little story to tell you. So just sit back and relax," he says as he makes himself comfortable while Sasuke remains on edge. "This story takes place many years ago when a plot was being devised by a certain clan to take over the village and put one of their own in charge. But little did they know that one of their own was a spy, feeding their enemies with information. A few days before the coup was to take place, the spy was ordered to kill his entire clan to stop the coup from taking place. Because if the coup had succeeded it was believed that another world war would have started as a result. So after the instigators and their families were killed with the exception of one child, the spy was deemed a traitor and kicked out of the village, which he gladly accepted because the person he cared about most was safe. A little while later the spy was inducted into the most infamous criminal organization in existence. Then several years later the child he so desperately wished to protect killed him," the masked man finally finishes, but Sasuke just sits there too stunned to say anything. "Of course you know who I am talking about, your brother Itachi."

"You're lying…you're lying!" he finally yells out as he jumps off the couch. "That bastard killed the clan just to test his own strength and left me alive to further test that strength! He didn't care about me! The only reason he let me live was so that he could take my eyes and gain the eternal mangekyo sharingan!" he continues, his breaths coming in aggravated gasps.

"Everything I just told you was the truth. During your battle with him, Itachi was only pretending to be after your eyes so that you would be forced to exceed your limits and then be forced to rely on the chakra your absorbed from Orochimaru. He wanted to remove the curse that had been placed upon his precious little brother."

"I don't believe you! You're lying!"

"It is truth. I can even tell you who ordered Itachi to murder the entire Uchiha clan."

"Who?"

"The third hokage as well as the elders and Danzo."

"H-how do you k-know so much?" Sasuke stutters because his mouth is unable to form words properly as he falls back onto the couch.

"Because I was there that night and witnessed everything."

"Who are you?"

"I am Madara Uchiha."

"Impossible, he was one of the founders of the Uchiha clan and died long ago."

"Nothing is impossible for I am immortal, everyone just assumes I am dead. But as I said earlier, congratulations on finally gaining your vengeance, as a reward I have a gift for you," he says tossing Sasuke a small vial. "Those are Itachi's eyes. I'm sure you've noticed your own eyes have started to fail you."

"Why are you giving them to me? What is the catch?" he asks with a raised eyebrow.

"All you have to do is stay out of the way. Soon we will be coming for the nine-tails to whom you have recently married even though you carry no feelings towards her. So when we come for her, don't interfere. I am also offering for you to come join me, together we can make those who forced your brother to murder your clan to suffer. As well as all the others who have caused you pain. You don't have to decide now, but soon I will expect an answer." And with that he collapses in on himself as he is sucked into the hole in his mask and disappears, leaving Sasuke sitting in the dark holding the small vial.

**OoOoOo**

When she had finally gotten back to the compound she was startled when she turned on the lights to see Sasuke sitting in the dark holding something small in his hands. It looked as though he was deep in thought by the troubled look on his face. Not wanting to annoy him further, she goes straight to the kitchen and heats up some leftovers before going to her room but is stopped when she sees tears falling from his obsidian eyes. Immediately she puts her plate on the table and sits down next to him, "Sasuke, is everything okay?" Instead he just sits there staring down at the small item in his hands, following his gaze her eyes open wide in surprise when she sees the vial. "Are those-"

"Itachi's eyes," he whispers finishing her sentence.

"Wh-where did you get them?"

"He was crying, they forced him to kill everyone…"

"What are you talking about? Forced to kill who?"

"They forced him to kill everyone!" he yells at her as he stands.

"Calm down," she says calmly as she too stands and looks him in the eyes. "What happened and how did you get Itachi's eyes?"

"It's none of your damn business dobe! And don't tell me to calm down! Just leave me alone for once!" he yells as he storms out of the room and slamming the door to his bedroom.

"I swear sometimes I wish that I would have just left you there lying in your own blood," she says as she goes to her own room, her appetite gone.

**OoOoOo**

He was beyond angry, so much so that he couldn't think straight. He knew that he probably shouldn't have yelled at the dobe because she was just trying to help, but he didn't care. Everything he thought he knew was wrong. Itachi hadn't killed everyone to test his own power, no he was ordered to do it by his superiors and then forced to leave the village as a murderer and traitor. What should he do now? He couldn't leave because the moment his absence was noticed Tsunade would activate the seal and kill him. And his eyes were beginning to fail him. Already he was having a hard time seeing things and when he had fought with Naruko many of the small wounds he had sustained were a result of that. Should he have them implanted in him? But who would do the operation? He couldn't go to Tsunade because then she would question where he got Itachi's eyes in the first place and they would be taken away. Maybe Sakura would do it for him? After all she was obsessed with him and would do anything to please him, at least that's how she was when they were younger. Yeah he would make Sakura do it so that he could obtain the power he would need to avenge his brother and family…Well once he had proven his loyalty to the village so he could exact his vengeance without being killed by the deadly seal that was on his body. That's what he would do, act like a good puppet until he could destroy everything, the idea making an evil smirk form on his face. He would destroy everything.

**A/N: So Tobi is a bad boy….haha. Anyway I really hoped you liked the chapter. There was a little Sasu/Naru fluff because you all have been asking for some and despite how this chapter ended there will be more to come. Sasuke is just a little confused at the moment but eventually he will come back to his senses…lol. This story will actually have a happy ending so no worries!**

**I probably won't be able to update for a few weeks because I have finals coming up and I should probably study…but summer break is almost here and then I'll update much faster. Thanks again for all of your wonderful reviews!**


	6. Chapter 6: Loss

**First off I want to apologize for the super late update! I got a job for the summer and have been too busy to write. Hopefully it won't take this long for me to update again since I actually have a day off next week. So without further delay, here you go! Please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything. **

**Chapter 6**

**Time skip - Three weeks**

She was beginning to go crazy, she thought to herself as she sat under an ancient shade tree in one of the many gardens that occupied the Uchiha compound grounds. It had been three weeks since she last spoke with the teme after he yelled at her when she had found him in tears sitting in the dark. Ever since then several akatsuki members have been sighted around the border of the land of fire so she wasn't allowed to leave the village, and to make matters worse the pervy sage was still on a mission with no sign of returning any time soon, Sakura too seemed to be busier than ever with her hospital duties. The air recently had become heavy and charged with a tension that could shatter at the gentlest of touches. She could feel it, a storm was coming.

The sudden increase of weight on her shoulder brings her out of her thoughts. A small messenger bird had landed on her shoulder and was now chirping softly in her ear. "Alright, I'll be right there," she says with a sigh, making the bird tilt its head and chirp before flying off again. Slowly she gets up and brushes the nonexistent dirt off her clothes before heading to answer Tsunade's summons, and after a few minutes of jumping from across rooftops she finally reaches hokage tower. She stands outside the door for a few minutes, the sound of hushed whispering reaching her ears. With a quick knock she enters with a polite smile on her face, but the smile quickly fades as the solemn faces of the room's occupants creates a feeling of unease in the pit of her stomach that quickly spreads through her body like a virus. "Why does everyone look like someone just died?" she asks nonchalantly as the door closes behind her with a heavy thud.

"Naruko…" lady Tsunade starts, her voice heavy with a deep sadness, "it's about Jiraiya. He went to investigate the akatsuki in Ame and…" her voice becoming chocked and unable to continue Kakashi quickly speaks up.

"Naruko, Jiraiya successfully infiltrated Ame and shortly after a battle ensued between him and the leader of the akatsuki. Master Jiraiya, he…didn't survive," Kakashi finally finishes as tears begin to glaze over Naruko's cerulean eyes.

"You-you're lying," she says back quietly, disbelief written all over her face.

"I'm afraid that it is the truth. I was there with Jiraiya boy and right before he died he engraved this on my back," lord Fukasaku says turning around and removing the tiny cloak he was wearing. "I was to deliver this information at any cost, but I am afraid that I cannot decipher it. I was hoping that you Naruko could figure—"

"Why did you send him alone on such a dangerous mission!" she yells out, completely ignoring lord Fukasaku as tears begin to leak out of her eyes. "Why did you let him go alone?! It's like you didn't even care about—" but her next words are cut off as Kakashi lightly slaps her across the face, leaving her standing there in complete shock.

"That is enough Naruko. Can't you see that lady Tsunade is just as upset about this as you? We all cared about master Jiraiya and he knew the risks when he left for the mission—" but his next words fall on deaf ears as Naruko runs out the door and slams it closed before anyone could say anything else.

**OoOoOo**

As soon as she had run out of the room, the dam holding back her tears disintegrated and now they were falling freely down her cheeks. Now she was sitting on the engraving of her father's face on Hokage Mountain. Sometime since her arrival it had started to rain but she didn't care that the cold droplets had completely soaked through her clothes. She was numb except for the pain in her chest that intensified with each passing second. He is dead, the pervy sage is dead. He was the closest thing she had to family. He was like a father to her. They had gone through so much together and it was thanks to him that she had matured into the young woman she was and grown into a brilliant shinobi. If it weren't for him she wouldn't be where she was today. She just couldn't believe that he was gone.

Time seemed to blur as the hours passed by and the sky continued to mourn with her. Had it been a few hours? A few days? She didn't care. She was in too much pain to care about anything. After what seemed like days of sitting there in the endless rain in nothing but a pair of black shorts and a crimson tank top had made her skin lose its normal sun kissed glow and the spark in her seemingly unblinking gaze was nowhere to be seen. She looked like a zombie sitting there staring into oblivion while everyone else continued on with their lives with their loved ones surrounding them. But she had no one to console her and tell her everything was going to be okay, that eventually the pain would cease and things would get better. At some point Sakura had found her and tried to get her to move, but she had completely tuned her out. Sakura didn't know what it was like to lose someone. Her life was easy, always surrounded by friends and family, always getting whatever she wanted whenever she asked for it. Sure they were friends and they had been through a lot together. But this was something that until she experienced it, Sakura would never be able to help her through this. The same goes for the rest of her friends, all of their lives were easy and devoid of tragedy. Well all except one but he didn't care about her, their friendship was one-sided and she was nothing to him but a nuisance. He would never try to console her, he hated her. Even more so after what happened that night she had found him crying on the sofa.

But why did this have to happen to her? Why did everyone close to her end up getting hurt? Her parents were dead because of her. If she hadn't existed then the seal holding in the fox on her mother wouldn't have been weakened during childbirth and her father wouldn't have used the demonic soul sealing jutsu that cost him his life. Asuma would still be alive too. It's because of her the akatsuki attacked and took his life in the process. And then the pervy sage would probably still be alive and not dead in a bottomless lake. What was the point of her life? Why was she born? Is her fate to be the wife of someone who hates her and to be the village's ultimate weapon in times of need? Was that all she was to them, a weapon?

So then what did she owe this place? She could just run away to somewhere far away, to a place where no one knew her name and she could start over. But then what would that accomplish? She couldn't just leave and abandon the place her father and mother had given their lives to protect. If she did leave then she would be looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life. And being the kyuubi's jinchuriki the elders wouldn't let her just run away, not like how they did with Sasuke. Running away would also make her just like the teme, running from her problems like a coward would make her exactly like him.

**OoOoOo**

He had been watching her for some time now, sitting atop the fourth's statue in the rain. She'd been like that for several days, unmoving and not caring that she was completely soaked. With the help of his sharingan he could tell that she was giving up. Her chakra signature was becoming weaker and her body was becoming less responsive. If somebody didn't do something soon, her body would shut down completely. The only reason he was there was because Sakura had threatened that she wouldn't implant Itachi's eyes if he didn't get the dobe out of the rain.

**FlashBack **

"What did you want to talk about?" Sakura asks him. "I really don't have much time to talk because Naruko has been sitting on the fourth's statue for several days in the rain and nobody can get her down."

"What's wrong with the dobe?"

"She found out that master Jiraiya was killed by the akatsuki leader while on his mission. She won't listen to anyone and if she stays out there any longer she could die."

"If I get her down will you grant my request?"

"I'll do anything! Naruko has done so much for me and I'll do anything to help her! What is it you want me to do?"

"I want you to implant these in me," he says coolly as he lightly tosses her the vial containing his brother's eyes.

"What are these?"

"If I get the dobe down and out of the rain you will implant these in me with no questions asked and you will never speak of it to anybody. Will you agree to this?"

"I-I don't know…"

"You said you would do anything," he purrs as he moves closer to Sakura on the couch. "Were you lying?"

"N-no. I'll do it."

**End Flashback**

"Go home dobe," he commands as he appears next to her. Instead of saying anything she just looks up at him with dead eyes. Her skin pale and sickly looking, making the dark circles under her eyes stand out. "Dobe, get up," he commands again, his voice harsh, but she just looks away to stare at nothing in particular. Not wanting to stay out in the rain any longer and with his clothes already soaked through he moves to grab her and force her back, but as his fingers wrap around her forearm a jolt of electricity is sent through his body. Cursing he instantly removes his hand and holds it close to his chest. "What the hell was that?" he asks aloud. After a few minutes he moves again to force her up, but more slowly this time and again is rewarded with another shock. "So this is why nobody can get you off this blasted statue. Come on dobe stop being such a little crybaby and go home."

"Go home?" Naruko asks, her voice quiet barely a whisper. "I have no home. I have nowhere to return to. I have nothing, I am all alone now…" she says, her voice trailing off as lightning flashes in the sky and the loud roar of thunder sounds. "Why do you hate me so much?" she asks turning to face him once the thunder finally dies down.

"What kind of question is that?" he retorts sarcastically.

"Why do you hate me?" she asks again, this time more forcefully as she finally stands, her legs shaky and threatening to give out any second. "Tell me and I'll go back to the compound." What should he do? Tell her the truth or just say what she wants to hear to get her off this forsaken statue and get out of the rain? Feelings he didn't want to surface were already starting to show themselves and break through the wall of ice he had built around his heart. Not knowing what to do, he just stands there with a cold glare in his eyes. "I guess you can't even do that," disappointment heavy in her voice as she turns to leave but her legs betray her as she falls to the ground. Too weak to do anything she just closes her eyes and let's gravity do its thing, bracing for the impact that doesn't come. Instead she falls to her knees, the rest of her body being held up by two strong arms.

"I don't…hate you," he finally says, his voice barely a whisper.

"What did you say?"

"I don't hate you."

"Then why do you act like you do? You're always so cold and indifferent, it's like I don't even exist in your eyes. All those years I spent training with the pervy sage was so that I could get stronger and bring you back to the village and all I got in return was a chidori through my chest! So, sorry if I don't believe you when you say that you don't hate me! All I've ever done was for you but this one sided relationship is getting old and—" But the sudden pressure from his lips on her own cuts off her next words and when they separate Naruko sits there motionless in shock in his arms as she stares at him with a dumbfounded look on her face.

"Naruko, I don't hate you. When we were younger I was jealous of you because your life was so easy. You didn't have to feel the pain of losing something so precious to you because you never knew your parents…"

"What?" she asks, snapping out of her stupor. "I feel that pain every day of my life. Growing up I never knew what it was like to be held in my mother's arms or to ride on my father's shoulders. Or when I had a nightmare or was afraid of something, I never had anyone to tell me that it was going to be okay and that it was going to get better when things got tough. Instead of having parents I was hated by everyone and called a demon. I was blamed for something that wasn't my fault because people didn't understand. I was always jealous of the kids who I would play with on the playground whose parents would come and take them home when it started to get dark. After they left I would sit there and feel sorry for myself because I thought I wasn't wanted because I was a demon. At least you have memories of your mother and father that you can look back on and know that you did have a family and that you were loved…that you weren't all alone. The pervy sage was like a father to me and now he is gone and it is all my fault. So I hope you're happy because now I know what it is like to have something precious taken from me," she finally finishes, the fiery spark returning to her eyes once again as she pushes his arms away and manages to stand on her own before slowly making her way back to the Uchiha compound, all the while leaving him standing there speechless.

**Hope you liked it! Next chapter will hopefully be longer. Thanks for all your continued support!**


	7. Chapter 7: Changing

**Hurray for a somewhat speedy update! Thanks for all the awesome reviews I got from you all for the last chapter. I hope you like this one just as much!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything. **

**Chapter 7**

She was beyond livid, her anger and frustration giving her the strength to make it back to her room. Once there she changed out of her wet clothes and collapsed onto the bed, tears once again spilling out of her eyes, soaking into the pillow she was lying on. So many emotions were running through her body and soul that all she could do was cry as the pain in her chest continued to get stronger. She knew that by sitting on her father's statue in the rain and refusing to come down was childish and shocking people when they tried to touch her even more so. She also felt terrible for yelling at grandma Tsunade and saying she didn't care about the pervy sage. If anything she loved him.

And then there was the small fact that Sasuke had kissed her. What did it mean? Was it just a ploy to get her to come down? No it couldn't have been. Even though his voice was as usual cold and unfeeling, there had been something behind that kiss. When their lips met an invisible force had made her heart skip a beat and for just a moment she felt like she was on cloud nine. Never before had she felt that way, for a short while she felt that everything was going to be okay before the teme had gone on about how her life was easy. Never before had she told anyone about how she felt about not having a family, how she was in constant pain at always being alone, especially returning to her meager apartment after a long day to find it dark and empty, completely devoid of life. Even though she didn't like the idea of being married to Sasuke she couldn't help but feel happy every time she would walk in through the door and see him reading on the couch or eating dinner at the table. Just the knowledge that another being with a heartbeat was living under the same roof as her made her happy.

Eventually she had cried herself to sleep, the consequences of sitting out in the rain for several days without food or water was beginning to take its toll on her, especially so when the adrenaline rush she had gotten from yelling at Sasuke was beginning to wear off. Her aching muscles and fatigued mind forcing her to sleep and regain strength, completely ignoring the world around her and for a moment forgetting her troubles and be lost in oblivion.

**OoOoOo**

At first he was speechless. All he could do was just stand there and watch her go and even now his heart was still beating uncontrollably fast. In the beginning the kiss was just to get her to shut up but when his lips crashed against hers, there was an unseen spark that sent his heart and emotions into over drive. He never wanted that kiss to end, but for some unknown reason he found himself pulling away and ending the sweet moment. Then he had to go and say something stupid, that he was jealous of her for not having a family, for not having to bear the pain of losing them. He knew her childhood hadn't been easy, always being picked on by everyone and treated like a demon, not knowing the comforting feeling of being snuggled by your mother or having your hair ruffled by your father when he came home. Even though those memories only made the pain of losing them resurface, at least it's like the dobe had said, he knew that he had been loved and as long as he still had those memories his family would live on inside of him, that his parents weren't really gone because they were alive in his memories and in his heart.

Unconsciously he had found his way back to the compound, quickly changing his clothes and falling into bed. But after several hours of tossing and turning sleep was eluding him. Frustrated at not being able to rest he rolls out of bed and finds himself standing outside of the dobe's door. He could hear her steady breathing, signaling that she was sleeping peacefully. He wanted so badly to open the door and run his fingers through her hair, to feel her soft skin and the warmth that always seemed to radiate from her...

What was happening to him? Just a few short weeks ago he had purposefully used a deadly jutsu against her and didn't care that she had gotten hurt. Now here he was standing outside her door longing to touch her hair and feel her warmth. Was he falling for her? No, he couldn't be. But then why did he just suddenly kiss her like that? She had tasted like ramen and fresh strawberries, which weirdly made him long for another taste. Slowly he brings his hand to rest on the door knob and just as he was about to turn it a knock on the front door makes him quickly retract it, a scowl forming on his face. And after several more loud knocks he reluctantly goes to the door and opens it to reveal his other teammate.

"Where is she?" Sakura asks as she forcefully pushes Sasuke aside and enters the house before being given permission to enter.

"In her room, second door on the right through that door," he says with a hint of anger in his voice as he points towards the bedrooms. Quickly his unwelcomed guest runs through the hallway door and into Naruko's room as he himself plops down onto one of the couches. Several minutes pass by before Sakura reappears again and sits down opposite of him.

"Thank you," she finally says relief clearly evident in her voice.

"Hn."

"Tomorrow night I will grant your request. I need to do some more research on the topic because I've never done anything like this before and not having any assistance will make things more difficult. But I will do my best."

"Is the dobe going to be okay?" he asks, seemingly ignoring her pervious comment.

"She's going to be fine once she rests and gets something to eat. Thankfully she is a fast healer because of the kyuubi's chakra." Then after an uncomfortable pause Sakura stands and dismisses herself, leaving Sasuke alone with his thoughts.

He was relieved to know that the dobe was going to be okay after a few days of rest and even more so to know that Sakura could perform the transplant, even though he would never show that excitement to anybody. Soon he would be powerful enough to make those that made him and his family suffer and experience the same pain he felt. But then his thoughts quickly turn back to Naruko, how can she love and protect the people that caused her pain when she was younger? Surely she must feel some sort of resentment towards those that would call her demon and throw rocks at her. If he were her, then he would have either left long ago or trained to become stronger so that he could make them all pay. What made them so different when they were so alike?

**OoOoOo**

Her dreams quickly turned turbulent and dark in nature. The night sky illuminated by the fire rampaging through the village and destroying everything in its path. Bloody and lifeless bodies strewn across the streets and amongst the rubble of collapsed buildings as those still alive run in fear of their impending doom. A small child crying over the body of its fallen mother, trying to wake her from her eternal slumber, she tries so hard to run to the sobbing child but her body betrays her and keeps her feet firmly planted in the ground. Suddenly the scene changes as she watches as each of her friends meets their gruesome end, impaled by a metal bar, incinerated by a powerful jutsu, drowned in a water prison, neck broken by hands reaching from the shadows…so much death. But the worst of all was saved for last, as the scene changes again she sees Sasuke standing on top of the ruble, his clothes torn and bloody, the crimson liquid of someone's lifeblood dripping from his sword.

"Sasuke!" she yells out, finally finding her voice, which makes him turn around and look at her. His expression softens when his eyes fall upon her and a small smile graces his lips. He holds out his hand and begins to walk towards her, his sword falling from his hands, sending a metallic ring through the air when it hits the ruble. Just as he wraps his arms around her he lets out a grunt of pain and a small stream of crimson leaks from his lips. Slowly the light leaves his eyes as his arms slip from around her waist to fall limply at his sides and as his knees buckle, his body kept from falling over by his head resting on her stomach. Once he had collapsed she had a clear view of the murderer, a man wearing an akatsuki cloak, his face hidden by shadow. The faceless man lets out a wicked laugh before driving his kunai through her heart.

A blood curdling scream escapes from her throat as she sits up in her bed, a cold sweat covering her skin and soaking into her clothes. Uncontrollable tremors cause her body to convulse as she lays curled up in the fetal position. Suddenly her door swings open and slams into the wall as a figure rushes through and wraps his arms around her, cradling her body close to his own. They stay like that for several hours until Sasuke notices the sun beginning to rise in the sky, painting the horizon in bright oranges and crimsons. By now she had fallen asleep again, her tears subsiding long ago as she fell once again into unconsciousness, only this time greeted by complete darkness accompanied by a feeling of peace and warmth.

**OoOoOo**

He had heard her scream, the sound sending shivers down his spine and a feeling of fear through his soul. At first thoughts of the akatsuki coming to take her dominated his fears but once he forcefully opened her door and ran into the room his rapidly beating heart calmed slightly down. She was lying in her bed with her knees up to her chin and her arms wrapped around them protectively, sobbing uncontrollably. Without a second thought he ran over to her and wrapped his arms around her, softly cradling her head to his chest as he ran his fingers through her hair and rocked her back and forth gently. Eventually she had stopped crying and fallen asleep again in his arms and not wanting to wake her he continued to hold her until his arms were numb and the sun was beginning to breach the horizon. As if the slightest of movements would shatter her like brittle glass he lays her down in the bed and snuggly tucks her bright orange comforter around her. After one last look he silently closes the bedroom door before going out to sit in the garden.

He needed to think. He didn't know what he was feeling and how to deal with said emotions that were making his heart beat fast and his soul feel lighter. When he first regained consciousness in the hospital all those weeks ago he was filled with nothing but hatred and loneliness, but now he was experiencing something completely foreign to him. Why did he suddenly feel the need to protect the dobe? Why did he kiss her earlier? That wasn't the first time he had wanted to do that, something about her captivated him and he didn't know what it was. Was it her goofy smile that would make her eyes light up and sparkle like sapphires? Or was it her infectious laugh that sounded as though it belonged to a divine being? Perhaps it was her innocent and sometimes naive spirit that could change people and make them a better person. Was that what was happening to him? Was she changing him by breaking the shell of ice and hatred he had encased his heart in? Was there a future for them? Could he just forget about his revenge and live the rest of his life with her by his side and be content? Was there something he wanted more than vengeance?

**OoOoOo**

She didn't know how long she had slept after falling asleep in Sasuke's arms, but she did know that now she felt better. Her arms and legs didn't feel like lead and her head was clear once again. Even though she did feel better, a feeling of unease made her throat dry and her heart beat rapidly. The tension she had felt in the air earlier seemed even more intense as she struggled to breathe in the saturated air. Beyond the sound of her breathing and her own heartbeat she couldn't hear anything else. The Uchiha compound was on the village limits, far away from most of the rustle and bustle of the busy streets but usually she could still hear the faint sounds of people trading goods and children laughing, and now not even the birds were singing.

Still somewhat weak from not eating anything for probably several days, she slowly changes into her favorite black cargo pants and a burnt orange tank top before walking into the living room. It was completely empty and by the looks of it nobody had been around for a while. Closing her eyes she searches for any nearby chakra only to come up short. With the feeling of unease in her stomach rapidly starting to grow she slips on her zori and walks out the front door, what she sees next makes her stop dead in her tracks.

**Yeah I know…you all probably hate me right now for ending it like I did. But who doesn't like a little cliffhanger? Haha! I will update soon because I have three days off this week and will have tons of time to write! Yay! **

**Sorry if Sasuke seemed a little OC…**

**Anyway…I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks again for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8: Destruction

**Chapter 8**

She had a feeling of dread in her stomach when she opened the door, once outside it took several moments for her brain to register what she was seeing. Pure destruction, there wasn't a building in the entire village that was left standing or completely intact, all that was left was rubble. The next thing that hit her was the bodies that littered the ground. Their eyes frozen open in horror as they lay in pools of their own blood, others mangled beyond recognition as they lay half buried underneath large chunks of rock. To make the scene even more gruesome not all of them were shinobi, a good portion of them had been civilians, some even children. Unconsciously her feet began to move, carrying her deeper into the destruction and devastation. She wanted so desperately for all the horrible images before her to disappear as she delved deeper.

Who could do this? Who could kill innocent children and civilians? Where was everybody? Were they all dead too? Why didn't she wake up at the sound of her own village being massacred? The memory of the nightmare she had had earlier makes her heart skip and her breath catch in her throat as she stumbled on a large piece of rubble. Quickly recovering she continued to walk, stumbling occasionally but each time finding the strength to get back up and keep walking. Eventually the piles of bodies become more frequent, fallen in positions suggesting they were trying to escape from their eminent doom. If this was another nightmare, why couldn't she wake up?

"Na-Naruko," a weak voice called out, stopping her. Quickly she turned to the direction the voice came from and all too quickly found its source.

"Hinata!" she yelled out as she rushed to Hinata's side. Without hesitation she made quick work of the large steel beam that had fallen on her comrade. "Hinata, are you okay? What happened? Where is everyone? Who did this?"

"It w-was the Ak-Akatsuki," she managed to say in between painful breaths. "I-I don't kn-know where ev-everyone else is. We go-got separated."

"Everything is going to be okay," she whispered, tears glassing over her own eyes as she saw her friend lying there in pain, her clothes torn and her body covered in nasty cuts. Remembering some of the medical jutsu that Sakura had taught her, she channeled a portion of her chakra into her hands, making them glow a soft green. Immediately the effects could be seen as Hinata's expression softened and her breathing evened out. "I'm afraid this is all I can do. I've stopped all the internal bleeding and also stopped you from bleeding out. You'll be safe here. I have to go find the others."

"N-no, you have to get aw-away from here. It is their leader he-he has come for you."

"All the more reason for me to find him, I've got a score to settle with him," she said, with a fiery determination in her eyes, all of her previous fatigue and weakness forgotten. "I promise you I will make this guy pay for what he has done," and with that she disappeared in a whirl of leaves, reappearing in her room once again.

**OoOoOo**

"Pein," Tsunade cried out weakly, as she stood opposite of him at the bottom of ground zero, "I will not let you bring further death and destruction to my village. I will end this now!" As quickly as her exhausted and injured muscles would let her, she pulled out a kunai and readied her attack, the Akatsuki leader doing the same. Just as the Asura path was within arm's reach of a clearly weakened Tsunade, in the blink of an eye the drone suddenly became nothing more than a pile of twisted metal, the impact creating a small cloud of dust that rose up into the air.

"Finally," a dark and sinister voice called out, "Naruko Uzumaki has made an appearance."

"That's right," she replied as she stood before the destroyed Asura path, her sunshine colored hair pulled back into a high ponytail, streaked with crimson highlights. In her now crimson colored eyes, with a black slit for a pupil, burned a fiery determination intensified by the black markings on her eyes that reach down to define her nose, giving her an almost feral look. This was her sage mode. The pervy sage had wanted her to learn from the toads, but she felt her summons and ultimately her sage mode should resemble her personality more. Something more cunning and deadly, something more like a fox. Besides it was only natural for her to have an affinity towards the beasts seeing how the Kyuubi was sealed inside of her. She could relate better with the fox clan than she could with any toad, not that she didn't respect their power. The pervy sage was one to be reckoned with. "Pein leave them out of this. This battle is between you and me, nobody else."

"Oh but it is too late for that. You see when asked for your whereabouts not a single one of them would reveal your hiding spot, well at least not willingly. Come now, only you can end this needless fighting. Come with me and I will leave this village alone and you can save what is left of your home."

"Like Hell I am going to come with you! I'm going to kick your ass and make you pay for what you have done!" she yelled back at him as she bit her thumb, breaking skin, before slamming her bloodied hand onto the ground. Not a second later an enormous cloud of smoke appeared, before quickly being blown away in the wind to reveal four enormous foxes, each with four tails. "Fuuka, get grandma Tsunade out of here to somewhere safe. Haruko, Daichi and Isamu you're with me."

"Yes m'lady," they all responded in unison before Fuuka, the smaller out of the four, gently wrapped her claws around the battered hokage and disappeared.

Without further hesitation, Naruko created two shadow clones that appeared standing beside her, weaving a bright blue ball of spiraling chakra into her hand that quickly morphed into something entirely different. The ball began to spin faster with each rotation, giving off the appearance of a shuriken as a high pitched whine filled the air. Having completed the new rasengan, the two clones moved to the front and began to run towards the five paths. Just as they made contact, they disappeared, their cloud of smoke soon cut in half as the spiraling chakra sliced through it, speeding towards the different paths. Immediately they all scattered, all except the human path that quickly picked up the animal path before throwing it to safety. As it did so, Naruko's jutsu made contact with its unlucky victim, expanding upon contact, the whine becoming louder as the light being given off by the jutsu intensified.

As soon as it began, it was over. At first the drone just stood there, its face contorted in agony, and then slowly it began to fall. A triumphant smirk made its way onto Naruko's face, but was quickly forgotten once her enemy began their attacks anew. Without a word, the only female path crashed its hand down onto the ground, an enormous cloud of smoke ensuing. Out of the smoke cloud ran a colossal three headed dog adorned with the same piercings and ringed purple eyes…but the strange dog wasn't the clouds' only inhabitant. A bird equal in size and appearance swooped out, following the canine. Immediately, Haruko, Daichi and Isamu leapt into action. Knowing the three could handle the summoned demons, Naruko pushed them out of her mind and focused on her own battle.

Just as she was about to make a move, Lord Fukasaku jumped in front of her, "Naruko girl wait!"

"Get out of my way I need to take this guy down! Look what he did to the village!" she growled out.

"In time, but first you need to know something. With the help of Shikamaru we managed to decipher to Jiraiya boy's message."

"Well what did it say?" Naruko asked her voice impatient.

"We don't exactly know what it means but the message was, 'the real one is not among them.' And then those metal rods inside of them are some kind of chakra receivers."

"Do they have any weaknesses or blind spots?"

"Not that we have been able to find. All of them are visually linked so they practically have a three sixty degree view. I will try to help you as much as I can."

"No, I don't want any help, this is something I have to do," she said firmly as she walked around the ancient frog. "Hey Lord Fukasaku, I don't sense anybody's chakra, are they…" she began to ask but let her voice trail off.

"I'm not sure but keep your focus on the battle ahead." Instead of saying anything, Naruko did as she was told and blocked out everything but the battle ahead.

_So, they don't have a blind spot,_ she thought to herself as a sadistic grin spread across her face. _Guess I'll have to give them one._ As fast as her muscles allowed, she formed several hand signs before forming slamming her hand down on the ground, "Summoning jutsu: impenetrable darkness!" A loud popping sound ensued as several cracks appeared in the earth. Seconds later, a thick black smoke began to leak out of the cracks and fill the air. The remaining Peins stood there, their ringed eyes analyzing the strange smoke. Only seconds later, the smoke completely engulfed the small crater that was the battle ground.

Closing her eyes, the Kyuubi jinchuriki let her natural instincts take over. Not only did the smoke render sight useless, it also made any kind of chakra sensing techniques ineffective. The jutsu also put the user at a disadvantage, but thanks to many years of practice, she was an expert at fighting blind. Since the jutsu had a time limit, she quickly got to work at finding her first victim, the summoning path.

**Hey guys! I want to apologize for taking so long to update. I have had some personal issues that I needed to take care of. But everything is okay now. The next chapter will be longer and won't take as long to update!**

**I want to give a big thanks to everyone that favorited, followed and reviewed! It really means a lot to me. And a big thanks to my beta Aoi Kitsune12!**


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